blueeyeddevil06 thank you for being my beta for this!

Chapter 22 – Sapphire and Emerald

Lita was fidgeting so badly she got up and paced. She hated inaction. The eyes of everyone else snapped to her and she sat back down. Not one of them had blamed her for her nervous energy. It was 6:47 and time had seemingly slowed to a crawl.

Jadeite spoke up, "Well, this all adds to Sapphire's ability to manage Diamond. If he can pull this off down to the minute, that's impressive."

Everyone else remained quiet and tense. The closer it got to seven, the harder it was for them to stay still. And then at 6:58, Amy's youma detector went off.

"Well, it's showtime!" Nephrite stated and transformed.

They left the alleyway in small groups to not alert a watchful Diamond that they were on to him.

When Serena stepped into the park, she quickly counted ten youma. She looked and rolled her shoulders. Time to go.

Sapphire watched them in formation against the youma and fought back a smile. He loved that his carefully thought out plan was working. He watched the sixth youma turn to dust and decided he better look busy.

He materialized in front of Serena, and she blasted him back. He went careening into a tree, and the wind was knocked out of him. He reminded himself he didn't want them pulling punches, but ouch! He was a thinker and didn't enjoy fighting or pain. He was currently in a lot of pain.

Serena looked and noticed Sapphire got up holding his ribs. She hoped she hadn't broken them. She then dusted two more youma.

The last two youma were easy to take out with all nine of them focused on them. Once the last was dust, she looked to Sapphire and noticed him disappear.

They all waited for him to come back and try to attack Serena. After five minutes, they turned and started to make their own ways home. Darien followed Serena.

Serena looked at Darien, and he could tell she was upset. "Do you think I hurt him too badly? I hope he's okay."

"I'm sure he's fine. You needed it to look good to convince Diamond that Sapphire wasn't betraying him. Anything you did will save his life in the end."

"I will try to remember that."

Darien kissed her and sighed, "I have homework to do. I need to leave, and I don't want to."

"Go do your homework so we can spend time together later." She leaned in and kissed him.

"You aren't motivating me to leave."

She looked up at him through her lashes, "Oops." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Tease."

"You know it. Go home, and I will see you tomorrow."

Sapphire held his ribs and walked over to Diamond as best as he could. Diamond was furious and wanted answers.

"You said you could capture her! I trusted you, yet you don't have her. Give me one reason I shouldn't kill you."

Sapphire tried to bow. "Sire." He sucked in a breath. "I believe I have a few broken ribs."

Diamond just stared at him.

"Sire, the plan is good. The distraction worked perfectly. She was just too strong for me. I have a plan." Here, Sapphire almost lost his composure.

"And, this plan is?"

"I can send more youma, and then I will attempt to capture her…."

"It didn't work!"

"I didn't finish, Sire. Then when they are all distracted by me, you step in and snap her up. No one is stronger than you." He struggled to take a breath. "You can get her while I play the fool."

"Yes. Yes, I think that will work. Go get those ribs looked at. Tell them I said that they can fix them."

"Yes, Sire." He tried to bow and almost fell over. He then slowly went to get his ribs fixed. Three were broken.

A healed Sapphire stood in front of Darien the next day and motioned with his head for him to follow. He led him into an alley.

Sapphire spoke first, "Tell Serenity I'm okay and good job."

"How many did she break?"

"Three. It hurt a lot, but it convinced Diamond."

"I thought you wouldn't be able to get away from him."

"I thought she wouldn't be able to make my injuries look convincing. Diamond completely bought the whole story. He believes I now have a vendetta against Serenity."

"What is our next step?"

"Diamond has given me every indication he will be at the next fight."

"We will plan accordingly."

"No more questions on my motives?"

"Ten youma showed up at seven o'clock. Amy ran a scan on you, and it matched the data you gave us on your powers. You seem to be carrying through on everything you have said. I'm nervous about it a bit."

"Why?"

"I want to trust you. I actually like you." Darien looked troubled.

"That's a surprise."

"It was for me too. Once this final battle is over, we decided you will have earned a spot at the table."

"The table?"

"You will be in on our planning and discussions." They had discussed it at their morning meeting yesterday, and they all agreed.

"Wow." Sapphire was shocked.

"You're in on the planning in a way now. We just can't alert Diamond by us all meeting with you."

"I'm honored." He was surprised how much he appreciated the idea of being part of a team. He had been working on his own for so long, and he was realizing how tired of it he was.

"You're protecting Serena. She's our priority; you have helped with that. Anything else we need to know?"

"I will send the youma in, and when Serenity is distracted, I will act like I'm trying to snatch her. It doesn't even have to look real to Diamond. He knows it is a feint. Diamond is really the one who is going to go after her. She needs to be ready for him as soon as she sees me move towards her."

"She'll be ready. We have it all figured out on what she needs to do."

"You should know we have a sister, Emerald. I'm not sure where her true loyalty lies. Diamond doesn't trust her to carry out his plan, and he almost killed her out of anger a while ago. If she becomes an issue, I'll let you know. Also, keep in mind the whole time that this is my plan. Diamond may go rogue and mess with it. Serenity will need to be ready for anything."

"I'll make sure that we all know that. Well, I'm glad your ribs are fixed, and do me a favor."

"What is it?"

"Never tell Serena that she broke three of your ribs. She would feel awful."

"I won't say a word." Sapphire smiled.

Later that day, Sapphire appeared before a furious Diamond after being summoned. From the moment he stepped through the door, he was on high alert. He schooled his features and bowed to Diamond.

"Sire, you summoned me?" Sapphire said with his head bowed still.

Diamond appraised Sapphire and asked, "I have your loyalty, correct?"

"Of course, you do. I serve at your pleasure."

"I have noticed some inconsistencies in the readings I have been receiving in the reports given to me. I am greatly troubled by this." Diamond pointed to the console at the computer next to him and asked, "What did you notice?"

Sapphire managed to keep his composure, but it was a close thing. He then walked to the computer and looked at the two sets of data on the screen. Staring at the screen he completely let his emotions slip through. He had not tampered with or fabricated this report. It was sloppily done, and whoever did it lacked his clever planning skills. He was furious. He let Diamond see his fury since he would misinterpret it. He was mad at the perpetrator. Not because of the attempt to mislead Diamond, but because it may expose him. He didn't need Diamond digging into anything this close to the end.

Sapphire collected himself and said, "What I see is that someone is acting against you. They're a fool. Their very discovery points to the fact that you cannot be out maneuvered."

"Yes. You're right. What are you going to do about this?"

"Sire, I will hunt them down and destroy any and all involved; this cannot stand!" Sapphire hoped that Diamond would actually hand over the investigation to him. That would be the only sure-fire way he could stay safe.

"You will not! You will however hunt them down and bring them to me. I look forward to killing them myself. I get such a thrill watching the life leave their eyes. It makes me feel like a god."

"As you command." Sapphire grew sick at another demonstration of Diamond's depravity.

"Go. Find them quickly."

Sapphire bowed and left since he was dismissed.

Sapphire spent a total of one hour investigating who the culprit was. The next four hours were spent concocting a plan to approach and protect Emerald. He was frustrated that she didn't come to him, but he had the grace to acknowledge he hid his subversive actions well. She probably had no idea he was working against Diamond.

He found her resting in her room, and everything was already going to plan. He had the perfect place to have a quiet conversation.

Emerald looked up quickly when her door opened, "Ah, and to what do I owe this visit, dear brother? I would have thought you would've still been ignoring me."

"You misunderstand my actions, Emerald."

"I find that hard to believe." She rolled her eyes.

"I've been busy. I've noticed that you have been busy too. Diamond has come to me about the inconsistencies in one of his reports. The report on the readings of the Silver Crystal."

She paled, and her hand shook. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Sapphire threw his handwritten notes at her. "I know you are the one who tampered with the report."

She looked down and visibly trembled. She closed her eyes and raised her head. Then she stared right at him. "What is my fate? What is Diamond going to do to me?"

"Nothing."

At that, she laughed, "You know he will kill me. Don't patronize me!"

"He will do nothing, because I have a plan."

"So, I am to be blackmailed. I see how it goes."

"You're mistaken. I have a plan to fake your death and hide you away."

"You're Diamond's faithful lap dog. Why would you help me?"

"You're my sister."

"Like that really matters in this family. Surely you were not fooled. He killed our father. He was fourteen and slipped poison in his tea."

"Of course, I know. I even know what kind of poison it was. It was the exact same poison he used to kill your cat when he was ten. He was mad after it scratched him."

Emerald grew still, "I didn't realize…. That… he is a monster." She remembered weeping over her cat when she was five. She had loved that cat much more than she had ever loved her father.

Sapphire handed her a vile and looked her in the eyes. "Drink this, and it will simulate death. I will show Diamond proof of your guilt and then show him what appears to be your corpse."

"I would have to trust you if I were to do this."

"You're the one with poor planning skills, the one who managed to get caught. It took me one hour to figure out it was you! Surely a member of this family can hide their actions better than that." He was annoyed.

"Why should I believe this won't actually kill me?"

"Does it matter if I am lying or not? Either I save your life, or I kill you and spare you from Diamond's cruelty. Isn't anything I offer you better than him?"

She grabbed the vile and asked, "What is it?"

"I call it 'Juliet's Sleep'. It is my own mixture I have in case of emergency." He had brewed it up for himself as a backup plan in case he was caught. He always kept it on him.

"How poetic. Too bad I'm not a lover in this story. Serenity would have been a more poetic vessel for this. Ah well." She raised the vile and said, "To her heath and to her getting a long way away from Diamond." She then drank the whole thing.

Sapphire told her to lay on her bed, put the vile next to her, and then picked up his notes. He gave one last look at the room then slipped off her shoes and put them away. He wanted it to look like she killed herself when she realized she was discovered.

Sapphire appeared before Diamond and bowed low. He had spent an hour of his initial prep time perfecting the next thirty minutes. Sadly, some of it depended on luck, but he only had so much time before Diamond would demand answers. He mentally started the clock. Time to go.

Diamond looked down at him and smiled. "Tell me you have found the culprit."

"I have, Sire." He tried to hand Diamond the file and Diamond ignored it. He then brought his hand back down with the file.

"So, who is it, and why are they not in chains before me?"

"I thought you would like to see the look in her eyes when she is caught. I have heard you say a trapped animal is entertaining."

"And, this is why I put up with you. You know me well."

"Yes, Sire."

"Who is it?! Who do I get to kill?"

Here, Sapphire paused as he was afraid to see the look of glee in Diamond's eyes. It was, after all, their sister. He foolishly still wanted Diamond to care at least a little bit about her. He schooled his features and said, "It's Emerald. She betrayed you and tried to hide Serenity's true power."

Diamond managed to disappoint Sapphire despite how low his option of him already was.

Diamond took a deep breath in then out and seemed relieved. "You have brought me good news. I was going to kill her anyway; this only steps up the timetable. It is handy to have an excuse to execute her. It looks better to others that way. Well done."

"I'm glad to be of service to you as always, Sire." What a bastard, he thought.

"Let's go get her; bring the chains."

Sapphire collected the chains and rejoined Diamond in his attempt to find Emerald. Diamond went to a computer console, searched for Emerald's location, and noticed a silent alarm.

Diamond shouted, "What is this?!"

"It shows Emerald is in her room and," he paused and typed in a search for appearances sake. "It looks like she hid an alarm in the raw data. It looks to have been tripped when you pulled up the two clashing reports."

Diamond grew angry, and he began to dig into the coding. Sapphire knew he was safe from discovery. He couldn't be matched when it came to his skill at coding, and he had carefully crafted the alarm to look to be put there by Emerald weeks ago.

Diamond smashed his hand against the wall. "She has had hours warning that I am on to her!" He then took off running.

Sapphire smiled and set off at a slower pace, letting Diamond discover her dead body. He heard an enraged noise and ran a bit faster.

Diamond stormed out of the room and screamed, "She is already dead! She stole from me the pleasure of killing her!" He then ordered, "Get rid of her body." He then left and shouted, "Someone bring me my lunch!"

Sapphire picked her up gently and knew he had twenty minutes until he could possibly be needed by Diamond. The clock was still ticking, and everything was going according to plan so far.

He walked out of a portal, into the park, and quickly walked to the arcade. He walked in and smiled when he saw Andrew behind the counter. "Please tell me Darien is around here somewhere."

Andrew replied, "No, he's in class." He recognized him from the meeting he and Darien had not long ago, and Andrew then had an idea. "Jadeite just left. I can call him."

"Fine. Please do it quickly." Sapphire placed Emerald in a booth to make it look like she had fallen asleep. "Thank you," he added when Andrew hung up.

"I'm assuming this is something new I have to pretend not to see?"

"Yes. I would appreciate that." Fifteen minutes, he supplied to himself.

Three minutes and thirty seconds later, Jadeite walked in and recognized Sapphire.

Sapphire spoke as Jadeite walked over to him. "Hitch in the plan, and I need help. This is Emerald." He pointed to the girl in the booth and then said, "She is my sister. I cannot vouch for her allegiances. Long story short, she attempted to hide Serenity's true power from Diamond, she got caught, I helped her fake her death, and I need to get her hidden from him. You cannot take her anywhere that would compromise any of you. I don't know her motives. I didn't have time, nor mostly, her trust once I found out. She believes I am loyal to Diamond. I couldn't risk telling her."

"Wow! Your family is messed up." He turned and addressed Andrew, "Can I take her into the break room to lay down?" Andrew nodded. "First, though," and he looked at Sapphire, "are you sure she isn't dead?"

"Yes, I gave her something to fake the appearance of death. Please, hide her. She did make a reference to wanting to keep Serenity away from Diamond. I'm hoping she's on our side."

"I will find somewhere to put her."

"Thank you. I have to go and appear before Diamond soon to hide this from him. I will be back at the bench at six to meet with you or Darien."

"What do I tell her when she wakes up? Won't she freak?"

"Tell her that she is finally safe, and that I will come to her later. Do your best; I'm asking for a lot."

At that, Sapphire turned, ran out of the arcade, and disappeared into a portal. He made it down to the crematorium and made an appearance, telling the workers to get out while wheeling in a cart with a fake body he had prepared on it. He tossed in the fake and wheeled out the empty cart.

A servant was standing down the hall. "Diamond wants a report on any potential damage Emerald may have done."

"On my way." He replied. Perfect timing.

Emerald woke up in a dingy room with peeling wallpaper and scratchy sheets on the bed that she happened to be laying on top of. She sat up and froze, "Hello, Jadeite. What are you doing here?"

"Your brother, Sapphire, asked me to hide you. You're welcome. I figured you wouldn't want to wake up in a motel room without any explanation of how you got there."

"I meant why you? How does my brother know you, and how is it that you are helping him? He is trying to destroy Serenity."

"Why did you falsify that report?"

"I asked you a question first."

"You're not in any position to demand answers."

She sighed, "Fine. I falsified that report on Serenity's energy levels so that she could catch him off guard. I want her to kill him, and I don't want him prepared to defend himself. Her powers are growing, and I tried to make it look like they weren't."

"You risked your life for Serenity?"

"Don't get me wrong. While I do want her safe, I want to keep him from getting what he wants even more."

He grew quiet then picked up his phone and sent a text. Two minutes later, there was a knock on the door. He opened it, and Emerald was shocked. In walked Serenity and Endymion.

Jadeite then told them the gist of their conversation, and Serenity smiled at her.

Emerald spoke, "Serenity and Endymion, what are you doing here?"

Serenity said, "Why do you and Sapphire call us that? I know it was our names, they have changed."

Emerald was truly puzzled, "You know Sapphire?"

Endymion spoke up, "I do. We have spoken twice."

Emerald then decided she better answer her question. "That is how we have always referred to you both. More importantly, it is how Diamond refers to you. He dictates so much of what we do and say."

Serena nodded and said, "Please, call me Serena and him Darien. That is what all our friends call us."

Jadeite smiled and told Emerald, "You can't avoid it now. Serena has taken you in and called you a friend."

Darien then addressed her. "Your brother Sapphire has been conspiring against Diamond. He has orchestrated many events to ensure that Serena isn't kidnapped. He is working with us and brought you to us to hide you away."

Emerald was stunned, "He is working against Diamond?! How? How is that possible? He attempted to kidnap Serenity; I mean Serena."

"He made it look that way."

"Serena injured him badly at the last battle."

Serena grew pale and Darien broke in, "Sapphire asked that she make it look good. She needed to defeat him so he could have a reason to fail kidnapping her. It kept Diamond from growing angry or suspicious. You know that wouldn't end well for Sapphire."

"Yes, that's true. Give me a minute." She sat there in shocked silence, thinking. She didn't know how to wrap her mind around the idea of Sapphire working against Diamond. Then she thought to their conversation before faking her death. He knew about the murder of their father, her cat, and maybe he knew the rest. The part where she suspects that he killed their older sister Ruby to make himself the heir.

She then said, "I really thought Sapphire was working with him. I kept close to Diamond to make him believe I was on his side." She sighed. "Sapphire was always a better planner than I was. To think I could have gone to him."

"He has protected you, and you will have time to talk later," Serena said.

Darien added, "Yes, after I kill Diamond."

Emerald smiled, "Good luck. You'll need it."

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"That is our cue to kick some youma butt!" Jadeite smiled and stood. "You stay put. I'll be back." He then disappeared to the location Amy sent to them. Serena grabbed Darien's hand, and they followed.

Emerald sat and knew now was the time to process all the information she was given.