Episode 5: Brawn And Brains

May 22nd 2:55 p.m.

Dewey Middle School. Tomorrow's achievers developed today. One of the best schools in Beach County and the predecessor of Dewey High School.

Through the halls and within Class A Pearl stood to the side as she observed the students paying attention to their teacher writing on the board. The teacher herself was fair-skinned with dark-brown hair ending at her shoulders and had crystal blue eyes. She wore jet-black glasses complimenting her white collared shirt, a long black skirt with black stockings, and black heels. A small touch of lip stick was added on, and finally was her platinum ring on her right hand with a green crystal dove at it's center.

The teacher soon finished writing and turned around, "Okay everyone. We've got a few minutes left until the bell rings, so can anyone solve these problems?"

She moved to the side as her students gazed their eyes at the board. D x 26. 144 + L. 255 - Z. 42/F.

Several students scratched their heads and most simply yawned. They had gone over this for the past few weeks, so this really shouldn't be difficult to figure out. Soon enough in the front row a student raised his hand up high while giving off a wide smile.

"Yes, Steven?" The teacher said, pointing at him.

"Number one is One-hundred and four. Number two is One-hundred and fifty-six. Number three is Two-hundred and twenty-nine. Number four is seven." Steven answered joyfully.

The teacher's lips slowly stretched as she turned to Pearl who smiled widely before applying the answers to each problem. "That's correct. I can clearly see you've been studying hard, Steven."

He giggled while twirling his fingers, "I did as much as I could, Mrs. Evans. Pearl helped me a little bit, but I did the rest on my own."

Mrs. Evans smile became warm as Steven blushed, though only for a second as another student was raising her hand up. "Yes?"

"Mrs. Evans. I don't think it's fair that Steven gets help from you and Ms. Pearl outside of school. Doesn't that give him an easy advantage while the rest of us have to study just as hard?" Said the female student.

Mrs. Evans slowly raised herself from her chair as her smile returned. "Katherine. You do bring up a valid point, but neither me or Pearl outright give Steven the answers. We make him work for it just as you all do. I'm not picking favorites in this classroom. I care about each and everyone of you equally and not once have I favored any of you out. This is your final year here and be sure I'm not going to make it easy for you all. High School is twice as hard than it is here and be sure that the subjects you'll learn there isn't gonna be a cakewalk."

Katherine slowly placed her hand down as the bell started ringing. "You all have a good day. And remember, Finals are next week, so be sure to look over your folders and be prepared. They are going to count for your final grades." Mrs. Evans informed.

Groans left most of her students mouths as they started packing up. Steven on the other hand just simply smiled as he put his books and papers into his Cheeseburger Backpack. Once he was done he got up from his seat and walked over to Pearl who wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "You were amazing today, Steven." She said.

"Thanks, Pearl. Though I am a little nervous about the Finals. And this'll be the last time I get to see Connie before graduating." Steven replied.

Mrs. Evans soon walked over to him and Pearl as they broke their hug, "Steven, you'll get to see her over the summer. I'm really proud of you for making it this far." She added, rubbing his hair.

"Thanks, Mrs. Evans." Steven replied. "Is there a way I can go to the same school as Kameron?"

"Me and Pearl will discuss it with the School Board. For now, you should go. Don't want to keep your bus waiting and make sure you're ready for I'm cooking up." Mrs. Evans said.

Steven firmly nodded as he grasped onto his backpack straps and made his way out. As the students left a buzz echoed in the air, making Mrs. Evans pull out her phone. Unlocking it a video was instantly uploaded before she pressed play.

"Our top story today. Out of nowhere a massive stone temple had just risen itself from the sands of Egypt. Locals are staying away of the site and is it obviously clear that this has to do with the guardians of Earth. The Crystal Gems and the Rainbow Gems. Authorities are keeping those near it safe, so be advise. This is Rebecca Hall. With Breaking World News." The reporter said.

The video disappeared and behind it a map of Egypt was shown with an orange Gem symbol glowing at the precise location. "Pearl. Why don't you go to Egypt. Citrine is already there and he could use some help." Mrs. Evans said.

As they locked eyes Pearl averted hers while tapping her index fingers together. "Christie. Your son is...nice, and strong, but you know that it's hard for us to see eye to eye at times."

A sigh soon left Mrs. Evans mouth. "I'm aware of that, but your goals are similar. Citrine can take care of himself, but you know how worried I get when it comes to these things. I'll take care of the assignments and prepare for the Finals. I'll bring you up to speed when you get back."

Pearl's eyes went from left to right at this decision. It's a little...complicated when the Crystals and the Rainbows work together on missions or taking down a Corrupted. They fought in a long War millenniums ago, but the circumstances back then where different. Still... regardless of how they interact, they both care about the planet they've grown accustomed to.

"Very well." Pearl sighed in defeat. "But when you bring me up to speed be sure to give me all of the contents."

"Promise." Christie replied.

Picking up her bag Pearl made her way out of the classroom. As she walked she placed her hand above her forehead and from her Gem she summoned her phone. 'Still can't believe I have to call him every time I get finished with work. Would've been better to go back with Christie, but no...' She thought to herself as she dialed a number.

May 22nd 3:15 p.m.

On the streets passing through Beach City a van with the title 'Mr. Universe' on each side drove by. The driver was none other than Greg Universe. The father of Steven and one of the best musicians in town. A very welcoming man who you can just sit down and talk to whenever you're feeling down. The kind of guy who can make your day a little better with words of wisdom or music that'll touch your soul. Though there are a few people who do have issues with him, one of them being right next to him.

"So...uh...how was work? Was Steven okay?" He asked.

"Steven is fine. He got most of the answers me and Christie provided correct." Pearl replied.

"That's fantastic! See, getting him into school wasn't such a bad idea after all. I was a little worried at first, but now I'm so proud of him." Greg said with joy.

A sigh soon left Pearl mouth, "I guess you are right about that. Especially with how much talking Christie and Green did to convince us otherwise. Though by Fall I'll have to transfer."

"Pearl. I think it's best for him to handle High School on his own. Kameron might keep an eye on him, but he'll be fine." Greg assured.

"I need to be sure of that, Greg. High School students are far different from middle schoolers. Teenagers are a lot more complicated than kids, so I want to make sure Steven doesn't end up in the wrong crowd." Pearl stated.

"He won't. You just have to trust him." Greg said.

No response was given as they traverse through the sand. Soon enough they arrived at the Beach House...or The Temple.

"Thank you." Pearl said nonchalantly as she unbuckled herself.

"Just glad to give you a ride." Greg replied.

She soon opened the door and stepped onto the sand. Greg looked at her back as she stood still, "Don't think of this as if it's anything else. I only require you to take me home because Christie suggested it. Understand?"

Greg's lips slowly turned into a frown. "I understand... Can I come in and see my son at least?"

"He's studying right now. You can see him during the weekend." Pearl replied, closing the door.

Watching her walk up the steps Greg soon changed gears and drove away from the house. School was important...but seeing his son felt more important to him. The bright side was he'll be able to see him during the summer. The very thought of that made his lips stretch into a smile. He's just gotta wait a little longer.

Opening the door to the house Pearl placed her back down as she noticed Steven doing homework at the counter. On the left side of the house was Amethyst sleeping on the couch and Garnet sitting casually.

"Hello, Pearl." Garnet greeted.

"Hi. Garnet. Can't talk right now, I'm meeting with Citrine at the temple that just appeared in Egypt." Pearl replied, walking passed her.

A small gasp was her as she turned to see Steven who showed stars in his eyes. "Don't even think about it, Steven. Homework."

The stars completely disappeared as Steven turned back to his work. Small groans did exit out of his mouth as he continued, but Pearl paid no mind to it as she walked onto the Warp Pad. Seconds after a large beam of light emerged, sending her off.

May 22nd 3:20 p.m.

Arriving at the location Pearl stepped off the Warp Pad as her eyes then locked on Citrine, who was sleeping next to a Obelisk Tower.

Her eyes narrowed as she walked up to him. "Citrine!" She yelled.

Going through his ears Citrine opened his eyes to the sudden voice. Raising his head he looked forward to see Pearl standing in front of him with her hands on her hips. His eyes slowly narrowed as he got up from the sand, stretching his arms out and letting out a loud yawn.

"Why aren't you waiting near the temple?" Pearl asked.

"Because I had a long morning today. Had to demolish three apartment complexes, a skyscraper, and an old school building. Excuse me for getting exhausting after working so hard." Citrine replied, rolling his arms.

Pearl simply huffed as she shook her head. "Alright, fine. Let's just go and take care of this, okay?"

"Fine. Did my mom ask you to come here?" Citrine asked.

"Yes." Pearl replied.

Citrine groaned as they walked through the sand. It wasn't anything personal between him and Pearl, but pairing up with her was the least interesting thing Citrine ever enjoyed.

Up ahead Citrine and Pearl locked their eyes at temple. It was massive. Kinda looked a large Obelisk Tower piercing the burning sun. It was completely made of stone with some spiral shapings graphed into it. A beautiful sight to witness, though there was a major question that needed an immediate answer. Why now after so many years would the temple rise from the sands?

Climbing the steps both Citrine and Pearl were confronted by a large door.

"There might be a switch nearby or-" Pearl said before stopping herself.

"We don't have time for that." Citrine replied as he walked forward. Taking both of his arms he pierced his very fingers into the stone structure and began to pull. Putting in the effort the door slowly began to move more and more until Citrine pushed it back hard, fully opening it.

"Is brute strength really the answer to everything with you?" Pearl asked.

"Hey! I can think too. I just want us to handle this as fast as possible so no humans can enter and die." Citrine replied.

With the door opened they walked inside. Small torches started to light up as they continued on. With the torch's light they were able to see many illustrations of the Great War. No matter how much time has passed the very memories of those horrid and dark times would never escape their minds.

Reaching the end of the hall the duo soon stopped. In front of them looked like a huge sarcophagus with ancient writing at it's center. Pearl stepped up as she looked at the words, "It says, I am nowhere. I am not within sight. I cannot be relinquished. Not bound by dark or light."

Citrine hummed as he lifted his hand and scratched his head. Pearl placed her hand under her chin as the riddle entered her mind. 'I am nowhere. I am not within sight. I cannot be relinquished. Not bound by dark or light. Hmm... What does this mean?' She thought to herself. The words rattled her mind over and over. A small gasp exited her mouth as her eyes soon expanded, "That's it! It's nothingness!"

"Nothingness?" Citrine questioned.

"We can't see it. It doesn't exist anywhere. It cannot be destroyed. And it isn't bound to anything." Pearl explained.

The sarcophagus started to glow until it disappeared and a new pathway was opened. Going inside they made their way forward right before they stopped in their tracks. In front of them were two large statues with one holding a large battle ax and the other a lance. Each were shaped into the form of a warrior and as their eyes started to glow their bodies started to move.

"Return from whence you came!" The Ax Statue said.

"Entry requires death! Defeat us and you may proceed!" The Lance Statue said.

"Sounds simply enough." Citrine replied, summoning his hammer.

"Looks like we don't have a choice." Pearl added, summoning her spear.

Raising themselves from the ground the statue guardians gazed down at Citrine and Pearl. Taking a step forward the Ax Statue raised his weapon up high and soon slammed it straight down, sending a large wave of stone at his enemies. The Gem duo quickly moved out of the way, but as they did the Lance Statue started to twirl his weapon, summoning a large twister and sending it right at them.

Quickly dodging it both Citrine soon found themselves on opposite sides of the area. Gripping her spear Pearl's eyes gazed at the statues and the area around them. Her lips slowly stretched as she looked over at Citrine, "Citrine. I have an idea, but it'll only work if we work together. Okay?"

"The only idea we need is to just take them down." Citrine replied as he charged at the Ax Statue.

Coming in close the Ax Statue raised his weapon and launched it downward at Citrine. Just as it got it's chance Citrine brought up his hammer and with both hands he swung it at the Statue's weapon. The shear force within his swing crushed the weapon, breaking it into pieces. Then as the Ax Statue attempted to make the next move Citrine raised his left arm, slamming it straight at it's stomach.

"UGH!" The Ax Statue grunted.

Falling onto one knee the Ax Statue looked forward to see Citrine's hand clasp onto his head. Gripping onto it and adding in some pressure large cracks began to form onto it right until it's head immediately shattered into pebbles. The remains of the body fell to the ground, breaking itself apart.

Turning his body Citrine locked his eyes onto the Lance Statue. Charging straight at it the Lance Statue began twirling his weapon, summoning yet another twister. Pulling up his hammer Citrine protected himself from the harsh winds. Though strong the winds were even stronger as little by little they began to slowly push him back.

"Your brute strength means nothing to my capabilities!" The Lance Statue claimed.

Grunts soon left Citrine's mouth as the winds kept picking up. Pearl watched as this was happening right as Citrine turned to look at her. Switching her eyes from him and back to the Lance Statue she understood what she needed to do. Raising her spear as it began to glow she gave it a good toss. Soon the entire spear was engulfed in a white light and was heading straight for the Lance Statue's head. And right on target the spear skewered the head, shattering it.

The winds started to fade as the Lance Statue's body collapsed. Shortly after a small light emerged from the wall nearby, turning it into pathway.

"To be perfectly clear, MY suggestion would've helped us more quickly." Pearl pointed out.

Citrine turned to her as he placed his hammer on his shoulder, "The last time I listened to your suggestions it took us six hours just to destroy a group of Amethysts. You told us to create formations, work on trajectories, create visualizations of latitudes and longitudes when going into areas so we'd have plans, and always point out flaws in our performances. It was such a headache!"

Pearl scoffed at his words while placing a hand on her chest, "Well, excuse me for formulating the precise required movements we used to our advantage! Only thing you're capable of is destruction with that stupid hammer of yours! You said you can think too, well personally I highly doubt a dolt such as yourself is even capable of using a plethora of your mind!"

Citrine eyes soon tightened into a glare as he walked up to her. She already knew he was far larger than her as they glared at one another. She summoned another spear just in case this was going south at any given given moment. How many times have they had these arguments? Too far to count and hard to say, though as they continued locking eyes Citrine closed his, sucking in some air from his nose and exhaling it out.

"Pearl. I don't like fighting with you," He began as his voice softened, "You're smarter than me. That is perfectly clear and it would be better for us to just finish this mission than making more delays. And for the record, I was made fun of because of my low intelligence when I when was in school and applying for my job. I had to work twice as hard answering questions than taking action, and when I was finally able to physically act it felt so good. So right now, if your plans will make this mission end quicker than I'll listen. Agreed?"

Opening his eyes he saw Pearl blink at him as her eyes averted his, "Very well." She then turned her head back to him, "Honestly, I do not enjoy this conflicts either. I believe we only make them due to our differences. So I agree with your suggestion, Citrine. And I do apologize for calling you a dolt."

"It's not the first time. Let's go." Citrine replied.

Firmly nodding, the duo gripped onto their weapons as they walked into the next pathway.

Down the hall they found themselves in a very, very interesting room. From left to right there were ancient carvings from the Great War drawn in identical formations down to the point. In the middle of the room was a large square with several small squares illuminated in light while the rest were blank. And on the opposite side of the room was yet another sarcophagus, only one's illustration of a pharaoh was actually very characterized.

Pearl's lips stretched and grew into a large smile as she took a step forward. "My stars... Whoever designed this room clearly understood the very term of symmetry." She said in awe.

Citrine groaned as he walked up next to her. "Focus, Pearl. What should we do with the lights on the squares?"

Shaking her head Pearl directed her eyes toward the middle of the room. 'There are ten squares in a horizontal pattern. Followed by nine squares placed in a vertical pattern. Only thirteen of these squares are illuminated and making contact with them should be the solution. Though...I am unaware of the remaining blanks. It would be beneficial to avoid them.' She thought to herself. "Citrine. We should be able to make it across by going through the squares that are lit up. Don't try to cross on your own, your trajectory and the longitude of your position are too small due to the closed space." She said out loud.

"Okay. Lead the way." Citrine replied.

Dismissing her spear Pearl closed her eyes as she raised her hands up. Standing on the tips of her toes she leaped into the air with elegant grace. Landing on a illuminated square she opened her eyes and leaped onto another and another with small twirls during each passing. From left to right she hopped on each square with a small grin stretched across her lips. When it came to the final square she jumped up high, stretching her legs and spinning around while airborne. Landing right on the other side and taking a bow.

Citrine dismissed his hammer an couldn't help but clap at her performance. Gotta give her credit with those moves of hers.

Now it was his turn. Luckily for him, the square were big, but they didn't look too big an one wrong move might make the whole platform fall apart. Smacking his face with both hands Citrine bent his legs and leaped. Right onto a illuminated square he kept up his leaps as Pearl watched. Carefully watching the squares he moved from left to right without stopping until he made it to the last one and jumped straight toward Pearl, landing right beside her.

Making their way up to the sarcophagus another inscription was labeled on it. "So you've come this far, you've reached the end. Inside of me is a power you can never comprehend. Those who have triumph have lost their fire. Within me is your heart's desire. Claim it if you heed, though be careful and don't get tempted by greed." Pearl read.

With both hands Citrine gripped onto the sarcophagus and opened it. Within it's confines lied an orange light shining from a large sphere. Though on the surface it didn't look too special, Citrine and Pearl were in awe by it's structure.

"Wow. This is what we hid in this temple?" Citrine asked.

"Apparently so. I do not recall it being so...beautiful." Pearl replied. "Why did we hide this again?" She added.

"I don't remember. Maybe it's best if I hold onto it until we get outside." Citrine said, reaching out for it.

Just as he touched it and held it in his hands the sarcophagus fell back and it's loud thud caused a chain reaction. In mere seconds the temple began to shake. It's rupture made Pearl shake her head as he noticed what was happening.

"Citrine we need to leave!" She said as she started running off.

She then stopped as turned her head to see her friend standing in place. "Citrine! Let's go!" She yelled.

Shaking his head Citrine placed the sphere under his arm and turned to follow her.

Moving as fast as they could the duo took only a glance back to see the temple began to fall apart. As they kept going the ground below them started falling apart as well. Up ahead the exit was within their reach, but as they got closer Pearl suddenly lost her footing, descending with the crumbling structure until she grabbed onto a ledge.

"Citrine! Help!" She cried out.

Stopping in his tracks Citrine turned his body to see Pearl hanging onto dear life. Turning his head the exit was just a few feet away and he'll be able to get out with the sphere, but was that more important than a friend in danger? Rapidly turning his head back and forth Citrine turned to Pearl and jumped toward her. Landing near the edge he let go of the sphere and pulled Pearl up before placing her on his shoulder.

"Citrine, the sphere!" She called out, watching it roll away from them.

"Your life is way more important than that thing." Citrine replied.

Jumping back to the surface he charged straight forward with numerous debris falling right at them. Pearl called out where they were falling and Citrine quickly moved into that direction without a response or a second thought. No point in arguing right now.

The warmth of the sun soon hit them as they made it out with the remains of the temple breaking apart. Crashing into the sands Citrine lifted Pearl off of his shoulder and into the air, "You okay?"

"I'm okay. Can you put me down now?" She replied.

Setting her down gently they both looked over at the remains of the temple. "Why didn't you keep the sphere?" Pearl asked.

"I told you. Your life is more important than that thing. Besides...I think it had some weird magic that made me think only about it and nothing else. If we brought it back then it'll might've caused an outbreak with everyone fighting over it." Citrine stated.

Pearl blinked at his response, "You've come up with that conclusion after just looking at it?"

He looked at her and nodded. "Let's go home. It's Ravioli Night tonight and I don't want to miss out on it."

Pearl agreed as they walked over toward the Warp Pad. "Steven wants spaghetti, so I've got some cooking myself to do too."

End of Episode 5.

Hope you enjoyed and I apologize for the delay. I also hope you all had a very merry Christmas.

Next Time:

Feel Your Rhythm