A Day In The Life Of...
Garnet:
The red sun was just rising and clouds dotted the horizon, turning the sky into an artful rose. The ocean washed calmly over the beach, sparkling with light. Beach City was still asleep, but the Crystal Gems were not. At least, Garnet wasn't. The silver door leading to the Crystal Palace split open and Garnet stepped out. She walked silently to the kitchen table and sat down. She sipped a glass of hot chocolate that Pearl always set out for her in the morning. Garnet looked around idly wondering where Pearl was. When they could, they normally spent the small hours of the dawn together in peace, before everyone else woke up and broke the silence.
The door flew open and Pearl stepped in dripping wet and looking as if she had been dragged across the beach several times over.
"Wake up on the wrong side of bed?" Garnet asked with a straight face. Pearl rolled her eyes and harrumphed. She slammed the door shut behind her.
"Very funny, Garnet." Pearl yanked a tiny crab out of her hair and it scuttled across the floor. She sat down heavily at the table. "But no. Lucy came back this morning and I had to drive her off." Lucy was a battle-scarred sea serpent and an unfortunate fixture to the Gems' life. Lucy had appeared many years ago and always seems to be able to slip away before being defeated. So, every now and again, Lucy drops by and terrorizes beach-goers.
"Amethyst and Steven will be disappointed they missed her," remarked Garnet.
"They'll see her again I'm sure." Pearl picked up her own mug of hot chocolate and drank from it. She leaned back and relaxed. The two Crystal Gems spent a few moments silently sitting at the table. They both looked out the window and admired the sunrise. Pearl sighed, "Well, I'm going to go clean up." She got up to leave, "Breakfast is on the counter." Garnet finished her drink alone in silent contemplation.
Soon enough Amethyst and Steven woke up and made their way to the kitchen. Garnet made Steven a plate of food and set it on the table. Amethyst simply took the pan of eggs from the stove and the plate of pancakes on the counter and ate from them. While Amethyst ate quickly and messily, Steven ate a bit slower. He was still half-asleep.
"Hey Garnet, did you see Lucy drag Pearl down the beachside?" Amethyst giggled and swung around a fork for emphasis. "When Lucy wrapped her tail around Pearl I thought she was going to go have a heart attack!"
Garnet repressed a smile at the mental image of Pearl shrieking in surprise. "A sea serpent was attacking her and you just watched?" she asked disapprovingly. An eyebrow raised, but of course you couldn't see it for her shades.
"Er… I knew she could handle it herself Garnet!" Amethyst flushed. Garnet remained silent.
"Lucy was here? Why didn't you guys get me!" Steven groaned.
"Lucy isn't a pet Steven, she's dangerous." Garnet reminded him softly.
"I knooow, but still." Steven played with the last of his eggs and finished his food, muttering something about 'being able to handle Lucy.' "Hey Garnet, since I didn't get to see Lucy… can we go to the zoo later?" Steven looked hopefully at Garnet.
"Sure Steven." Garnet smiled. Pearl walked into the room wearing a towel and feeling much better.
"Umm, guys? Lucy is back." Amethyst spotted her rising from the sea from the window. Pearl's face dropped and she went back into the temple to get dressed with a sigh.
"I wanna see!" Steven ran to the window and saw Lucy writhing in the ocean, making the water froth and boil. "Awesome!" Garnet and Amethyst moved to the balcony to watch. Pearl rushed back into the room and joined them.
"I think you made her mad Pearl." Amethyst remarked. Pearl crossed her arms indignantly.
"I'm not exactly happy either." Pearl knew Amethyst had watched her get assaulted by the sea serpent and was, like she had said, not very happy. A ground-shaking roar interrupted them as Lucy swam close to the shore.
"Let's move, Gems." Garnet commanded. Pearl and Amethyst leapt from the balcony. Garnet placed a hand on Steven's shoulder. "Stay inside, Steven." She said firmly. Garnet leapt off the balcony and landed beside the other Gems.
"Do we still get to go to the zoo?" Steven called after her. No answer. "Aww."
Lucy clicked menacingly and loomed over the gems. A huge shadow cast itself over the brave Gems and for a moment they all stared hardly at the serpent. Lucy's scales glittered blue and water poured off of her. Her black eyes dilated and fixed on the Gems. "Come on girls," Garnet said as she raised her hands above her head. There was a flash of light and the Gems each summoned their weapon. Startled, Lucy whipped back and let out a screech. With a crack, Amethyst's whip wrapped around the serpent's blue neck and she pulled it down towards the shore. Garnet jumped up and clung to the serpent's body. Lucy began shaking her about. Pearl launched her spear at the monster like a javelin but wily Lucy knew what was coming and sank underneath the waves with a struggling Garnet. Below the water Garnet had climbed to the back of Lucy's neck and was pummeling her mercilessly. Lucy ignored Garnet whose hits weren't as effective underwater. Garnet climbed further up to her skull and tugged hard on her snout, prompting her up. Lucy breached the surface with a tremendous wail. Waiting for her were Pearl and Amethyst, miraculously standing atop the water. Pearl stabbed at Lucy's vulnerable belly as Lucy rose upwards and Amethyst flayed Lucy's thick hide with her crystal tipped whip. Garnet kept a tight grip on the monster and brought a gauntlet down again and again on her skull.
Lucy roared in rage and flung Garnet off. The woman flew through the air and on to shore. Lucy brought her massive jaws down on Pearl who pirouetted to the side and brought down her spear across Lucy's snout. Lucy snarled and swung her massive head into Amethyst who skidded across the water and landed beside a recovering Garnet with a hollow thud. Blood tainted the salty water now and the beast was enraged. Lucy's tail reached out of the water and wrapped around Pearl's waist. There was a sickening crack and the pale Gem was flicked to shore with her sisters-in-arms. Garnet was at her feet and was just as livid as Lucy. Lucy hissed and disappeared beneath the waves, leaving a trail of blood in her wake.
"Pearl!" Amethyst cried, staggering to her feet, "Are you alright?" Pearl lay in a heap on the beach. She groaned.
"I-I think something broke." Pearl tried to move her hand and winced. That was broken. She tried her other hand and pressed down gently on her waist. She grimaced. That was shattered too. "Yeah, definitely not okay." Garnet's gauntlets dematerialized and she knelt beside Pearl. Ever so carefully she picked Pearl up. Pain shot through her body. Garnet carried her up the stairs and into the house.
"Pearl!" Steven ran over to worry over Pearl. Garnet moved around Steven and placed her gently on his bed that was just upstairs. "Is Pearl going to be alright?" Steven asked Amethyst.
"Yeah, she just needs to be left alone and to rest."
Upstairs, Garnet fretted over Pearl, but not for long. "She's not getting away this time." she muttered darkly to Pearl.
"Be careful Garnet!" Pearl whispered tightly, still in pain.
"Garnet? Where are you going? Garnet, you can't go after her alone!" Amethyst looked worried.
Garnet left the house again without another word. She was on the hunt and her prey hadn't a chance.
Hours later, Amethyst was trying to distract Steven by playing video games with him. Pearl was still in bed. The door opened and in stepped Garnet.
"Garnet!" Amethyst shouted and then cringed. She whispered again, careful not to wake Pearl, "Garnet! Are you alright? What happened to Lucy?"
Steven ran up to Garnet and hugged her, "Are you okay?"
Garnet picked Steven up and set him on her shoulder affectionately, "I'm fine. Lucy is not. Was not." Her words hung in the air and Amethyst looked at her with awe.
"You…? You killed her? After all those years we couldn't, you just wiped the floor with her?" Amethyst said with mouth agape. Pearl hobbled downstairs, leaning on her spear. Her gem was glowing and was healing her at an accelerated pace. She looked exhausted. Garnet simply shrugged.
"Still wanna go to the zoo, Steven?" Garnet asked.
"Yeah!" Garnet waved goodbye to the others again and sternly told Pearl to get back to bed. She stepped out with a smile.
Pearl smiled admiringly, "I don't know how she does it."
