Tourmaline saw that grin. She wasn't sure if this was the same Smoky Quartz she'd seen grin like that before, but...if it was, that little Pearl had no idea of the world of hurt she was about to be in. Without even really thinking about it, she put her trident squarely through the neck of the Smoky Quartz, then snapped her net around the tiny dark Pearl with a flick of her other wrist. And then she ran.
Celestine looked from the Lavender Pearl to the Seafoam Pearl, hesitation on her face. ...Ah, shard it. She never liked the Courts much anyways. "If you want to get out, there's a rooftop garden a bit away from here. It's out of the way of anyone, even the security patrols barely go near it. This way," she said, starting off towards a smaller corridor.
Smoke was silently panicking. This was an unforseen event on top of what had already happened! Smoky Quartz never, ever carried her. She always just assumed that Smoke would trot at her heels. At least she was balanced somewhat precariously, once she had a plan she could probably make an escape. Or, well, she could have, if a net hadn't wrapped its way around her. She pretty reasonably began to panic. The color scheme of her...kidnapper? rescuer? too early to tell, seemed to match a Tourmaline that had been at the ceremony, but that could be very bad. What if she was personally offended by what had happened? This could be be a worse nightmare than what she'd been grabbed from. At least she knew how to deal with Smoky Quartz!
As soon as they were able to round a corner and get out of view (which wasn't hard to do what with all the panicking everyone else was doing too), Tourmaline very carefully eased her net down so that Smoke could stand on her own two feet. She didn't release her, but only because she was afraid the Pearl would panic and run away into even worse trouble. "I'm sorry I didn't ask you if that was all right, but I think I know her, and if I'm right I've seen that smile before. It's not a good omen for anyone. Especially you. And too many people are already about to be shattered for this." She frowned, but not at the Pearl. "I don't usually give out my entire designation but...I think after this you deserve to know. I'm Watermelon Tourmaline--yes, that one, Cut 777 Facet 418--and if I'd only known what you were planning to do, I would have done anything I could to help. You can call me Melon if you like. I'll let you out of the net if you promise not to run off. You don't have to stay with me after tonight if you don't want to, but I wanted to save somebody."
Carnelian backtracked through the hallways, hoping to get the guard Quartzes off the trail of the runaway Pearl. Maybe Pearls now, she wasn't sure what had happened right before she left the hall. She caught a glimpse of an angry Amethyst barreling down the hallway in front of her. Raising her flute to her lips, she blew a shrill, discordant note.
Smoke had to take a second to process. More than a second. Really, she stared blankly for a second, then collapsed surprisingly gracefully onto the ground. She gathered her thoughts and said, "no, it never is. I didn't expect her to... never mind. Thank you, Melon. If it helps, none of this was the plan, at all." She gave a surprisingly bright smile, despite all that had happened. " I promise not to run. But... there is one thing, please."
"My friends... Rose was poofed, Lavender grabbed her, and she and a few of the others ran. Gray is back with Onyx, too. Would you help me help them, if it's possible?" She tried to give a pleading look, but she'd never really had to, before. It just felt awkward.
"Of course." Melon sighed, ran a hand through her hair. "I tried to get Lavender out of there myself. She started it, I'm terrified that she'll be crushed. We'll do whatever we can. Do you have any idea where they might go to ground?"
"Thank you! " She thought, and said, "They took off out a hallway, if there's any ways out that are mostly unused, I think that's the way they would go." She made a small, unhappy noise and said, "They're in a lot of danger. We should go as fast as we can. I... I'm scared for them."
"Up on my shoulders, it's faster," said Melon, squatting down and patting her knee so Smoke would know it was okay to step up. "Do you have any weapons?"
Cautiously, Smoke climbed up onto the bigger gem, and settled herself on her shoulder. "No, of course not. I'm a Pearl. Why would I?"
"Some people make their Pearls hide their stuff." Melon sighed. "So, I came here because the Prase who used to own one of my shuttles got an invitation, and I was curious. I rarely come to Homeworld but I needed a part for my engine that isn't made anywhere else, and I got it. The point is that I don't have any bombs or grenades or anything like that but I might have some smoke bombs, and we could start a fire if we needed to." She ran as she spoke--no sense wasting time. "Which way?"
"I'm made for organization. Unless you want Smoky Quartz's schedule, I don't have anything important with me." "That way," she said, while pointing out the direction.
Melon took off down the corridor. "That might be useful later. She's going to regenerate after all. But for now just give me directions. You know your friends, and you know this building better than I do."
As soon as the Lavender Pearl began to dance with the flawed Seafoam, Citrine knew something was up. But they looked so happy, and their quiet giggling lifted a part of the young Quartz's soul somehow, some part of her she hadn't even known existed until then. She knew why people were muttering and starting to glare, all the same - it wasn't right, it wasn't part of the plan, and it certainly wasn't regulation. (If Citrine dancing with that Milky Quartz the third day of training had gotten them both yelled at, and these were only Pearls...) Then Rose Pearl seemed to completely lose her head, and then they all fused... she could understand why the garnet noble was knapped off. But all the same, her anger had all too much of 'stop having fun! Fun is bad and I don't like it bluh bluh huge clod' to it for Citrine to take her side, and she had seen how most of these owners treated their Pearls. It wasn't fair. Just as she thought that, Mega Pearl picked up their tormentor and poofed them. She was just as shocked as everyone else, but perhaps for the wrong reasons. A small laugh escaped despite herself and she slapped both hands over her mouth, eyes wide as a couple of her fellow quartzes glanced at her. Her expression must have passed well enough for hysteria, because they looked away again, but she couldn't stop the fierce upwelling of pride. Yeah, you show that bully. Everything in the hall dissolved into chaos, after that. Citrine's first thought was to find the little green-clad tech so she didn't get poofed as well in the mayhem, but then Yellow Diamond's cry rang out and she turned to see five of her fellow recruits run after Lavender into the crisscrossing pathways that lead out of the Great Hall. Well, that made things easy. "Hey guys, wait up!" she was so glad she didn't know any of them personally. The Amethyst and an Agate were dim enough to slow, but they didn't connect her drawing her gem weapon with anything but the escaped Pearl until she had swept them both into the wall, gems plinking to the ground like sad little '!' sounds. "Sorry! Sorry, just can't let you guys hurt someone like that! Sorry!" Oh man, she really hoped they weren't cracked. No time to check, however, and she and the remaining three soldiers reached within a few feet of the escaped Lavender and a blue gem that hovered close. Citrine put on an extra burst of speed and swung her mace at the Chrysoprase in front, who was at least a little cannier than her teammates and already had her great sword drawn. They clashed with the sound of ringing crystal, and there was no time at all left to think. The young Jasper turned tail and fled, probably for reinforcements, and Citrine cursed, too occupied by the other two former teammates to go after her. "Hey, blue teardrop! Get that Jasper, please! She can't get back to the Diamonds!"
Knowing she didn't have long before she had too much attention to handle on her own, Carnelian turned and dashed back down the hallway, turning the way she hadn't gone before. Straight into a Jasper running towards where she had gone. Shards. She hoped the Jasper was fresh enough out of training that solo combat wasn't her specialty, but she knew she didn't have much chance on her own. She needed to find the Pearls, and fast. The Jasper summoned massive gauntlets and charged.
Lavender was surrounded by several gems who were fighting. This scared her a lot. Though... Celestine had told her a way out! And Carnelian and Citrine were defending her and Rose. "A-ah..." she didn't know what to say. She wanted to offer help but... all she had were Amethyst's battle axes... And they were too unwieldy for her and Carnelian adn Citrine already had their own weapons.... She watches anxiously.
Well, that had certainly been interesting. Spinel wasn't so foolish as to risk her position by interacting with the Pearls and their rescuers, not in either direction, but - Her next mission was to Earth anyway. Though the orders hadn't formally been given to her, she knew what they would be. Eliminate Rose Quartz, and that she absolutely would not do. It was too soon to make a decision. Spinel tailed after the instigating Lavender Pearl, hidden in the troop of Quartzes by her height, at least until one of their own started poofing them. Well, break me now or break me later, she thought, as a Jasper slipped from the group and made for the musician Spinel had spoken to earlier, by the stage. There wouldn't be any witnesses but those who had already shown their rebellious sides. She could still be discreet. The rapier came free from her gem in a moment, and Spinel was a whirl of red and black across the floor, small enough to be beneath the notice of a charging Quartz as she slapped an enhancer onto her weapon. The electricity thummed along the thin blade; Spinel dropped to a knee, momentum sliding her under the Jasper, and thrust upward from out of the larger Gem's line of sight. A flash, and a yellow gem fell onto her hip before sliding to the floor. Efficient as always, Spinel thought, unhooking the enhancer from her rapier and clapping it back onto the magnetic holder on her belt. She stood. Rose Quartz is going to get a hell of a report, if I make it out of here unbroken.
