Chapter Text
The Nephrites, Jaspers, Peridots, Citrines, Carnelians, Amethysts, and other Gems stood in straight, neat rows. Each battalion was commanded by Rose Quartzes who had been un-bubbled from the Human Zoo. The Nephrites flew the Marquise Chippers, within the Pear Shimmer, also piloted by their likeness. The squadron of Destiny Destroyers was led by Emerald, the Trilliant Splitters by Hessonite, the Sun Incinerators by a crew of Agates, staffed by Carnelians and Amethysts. Admiral Jack, the mind-controlled version of a man formerly known as Samurai Jack, piloted his Asscher Slasher. He served as the supreme commander of the Great Diamond Armada (GDA). In the fleet's last engagement against the Horde, some ships and Gems had been lost. Now, the GDA was many times stronger, expanding its forces.
For this mission, the Pear Shimmer carried, apart from the starfighters, huge transport ships consisting of Diamond drills and Esperanzas, a bit like tanks. The Jaspers, Peridots, and Citrines, also on the ship, would be part of the ground assault force, assisted by Lapis Lazulis and Aquamarines.
Pink Pearl served as the ground commander, showing her loyalty to the cause of the Diamonds. When Yellow and White Diamond approached, the Gems remained at attention. Blue did not attend. She did not want any part in this scheme, faithful to Steven and the Gems on Earth, unlike Yellow and White, a decision these Diamonds accepted. White and Yellow saw her action as duplicitous. After all, Blue Pearl had drawn up the invasion and blockade plans of this new planet, but neither mentioned it to her directly, only thinking it privately.
Standing by White's side, Yellow examined assembled Gems. Everything seemed in order. She smiled in glee. White addressed those before her, dubbing them the Great Diamond Military (GDM), with the GDA as a subsidiary.
"I am White Diamond, matriarch of the Diamond Authority. I see eager Gems, in front of me, ready to defeat the enemy and restore honor to Gemkind. I am confident you will all fight the enemy with dignity. Make us proud! Fight for Homeworld! Remember those killed in the Battle of Horde Prime! Some of you will not return. Stand by your compatriots in this glorious fight and move forward to victory. We battle for the empire! Long live the Great Diamond Authority!"
The Gems cheered, caught up in the fervor, with the action by Steven and the Crystal Gems to challenge White, Blue, and Yellow four years ago had faded into the background. This was part of the reason an invasion of another planet would serve as a distraction, allowing the Diamonds to consolidate control. Aquamarines led the departing Gems into their respective ships, while the others got into their starfighters and spaceships.
Sometime later, Yellow Diamond blew the warp whistle, signifying that the Gems could leave Homeworld's orbit and warp to a planet called "Earth". They wouldn't be going to the one that Steven, Carmen Sandiego, Adora, and others lived on. Rather they would go an Earth with a hyper-corporate society and an advanced civilization with space travel technology. For this reason, the White and Yellow saw it as a threat. The ships warped away, disappearing into space one by one. Snickering and grinning like a Cheshire cat, White stared up in delight. Everything was going according to plan. The Gems on Earth could do nothing about it!
Back on Earth, Julia sighed. Apart from Yuri coming to the museum with their girlfriend, Anna Suehiro, and enjoying the company of Carmen, her day had been dull. Some days she dreamed of burning the whole museum down, angry at what had become of her life, but then remembered the care that had gone into assembling all the artifacts and records. Locking up the museum, she walked out the front door, Carmen at her side, and looked glum.
"What's the matter, Jules?" she asked.
Jules sighed. "Oh, life. I like being a curator and all, but the excitement I once had is gone. Although Chase Devineaux was a jerk, I really enjoyed going to other places…I miss traveling the world."
Carmen realized that she had to pull her girlfriend out of a funk. That's what you do as a good partner, right? That's at least what she thought. "I can't solve all that…but maybe some people I know might make you feel better!"
Jules was intrigued. What kind of people was Carmen referring to. She had no idea. "Really? Where are they? In some far-off land like Cuba, the Mexican Islands, or Persia?" she asked inquisitively.
"No, right here in Japan," Carmen said, without pause. This disappointed Jules a bit.
She slumped, falling to the floor. "Oh, drat."
Carmen did not want to her girlfriend to be like this. It wasn't right! She tried to raise Jules' spirits.
"Don’t fret! They are some of the nicest people I know. Now, hold on tight. We're gonna try and fly there. I hope this will work well with two people…"
This was something Jules did not expect. She went along with it, for now. She turned to Carmen, and said, "Carm, if you're not comfortable with it, I can call Mimi or Rin, who can drive us there."
Carmen shook her head. She wanted to do this for Jules, no matter what. "No…thanks," she said, quickly.
Jumping off the roof, she held Jules tightly in her arms. Due to the weight, the hang glider didn't have as much control as usual. She had installed little rocket jets on the side, making it fly at a hypersonic speed, making it uncontrollable. Before they took off in such a burst of energy, one person on the ground snapped a picture of the scene: Yukari "Caroline" Hayasaka. Since professional modeling in Tokyo had been her life’s work for the last 13 years, Carmen’s appearance interested her, as she thought Carmen might be a model like her.
She texted the photo to one of her younger friends in the industry, Anna Suehiro, only age 21, asking if she knew the woman. Her response made her heart skip a beat.
"Yes! That’s the badass woman me and my joyfriend, Yuri, met at the V.I.L.E. Museum and Archives this afternoon. Her name is Carmen Sandiego and the person she’s holding is the curator there named Julia Argent, I think. They are girlfriends or something, I dunno. Yuki might know more. I don't know any more than that, sorry."
Texting back, she thanked Anna and promised to meet her sometime for tea so they could catch up. She was once married to Hiroyuki Tokumori, the same age as her, 31. It didn't last long because her rebellious and independent free spirit couldn't mesh with his straight and narrow ideals. Since he had become a physician working at a hospital named after his family, he was Yuki's friends, although Caroline wasn't aware of it.
About to call Miwako, her bubbly pink-haired friend, now an established designer at Happy Berry, a brand still headed by her sister, Mikako, she saw Carmen and Jules spiraling out of control. They crashed into a building and began to fall. She gazed in utter shock. Rather than freezing in place, she ran toward the site.
Carmen and Jules had flown straight into the large skyscraper emblazoned with the logo of Sarashina Incorporated (SRI), the Soba restaurant chain run by the parents of Chizuru "Chi" Sarashina, another friend of Yuri. Quickly running through the streets of Tokyo, she tried to catch her breath after reaching the high-rise building.
She saw two women dragging an injured Carmen and Jules into an establishment named Yuki No Geibā.
Throwing open the door, she demanded they stop their "reckless action," threatening to call the police. "What the hell do you think you are doing? Those women were injured out there!"
One of the women inside shot back, "They are lesbians like us…so we're helping them. If you don’t mind, we need to medically attend to our fallen comrades."
Caroline understood now. It made sense. "I get it…I had a designer friend once, who liked men and women. He's still in Paris with his friend, producing all sorts of fashionable clothing for companies there…"
When she said that, the woman inside the establishment was intrigued. She wanted to know more.
"Ooh! What's his name?" she asked.
Caroline answered matter-of-factly, "It's Jōji "George" Koizumi. His lady friend, who designs clothes with him, is Isabella Yamamoto, a transgender woman."
The woman shook her head. That name did not ring a bell for her. "I don’t know him…although I know of Miwako of Happy Berry."
Caroline let out a yelp of excitement. She couldn't believe this. "Yeah, she's one of my oldest friends!"
The woman wanted to know why Caroline was here. She asked one further question. "Wow! What brings you down here…to the site of an injury?"
Caroline answered once again. She wanted to make herself clear. "I was hoping this lady in red, named Carmen Sandiego, might be a model. I'm a professional model and I like...her fashion sense."
Carmen lay unconscious on the floor, badly hurt. Although Jules also sustained extensive wounds, she had enough strength to pull a pen out of her pocket, and clicked it.
It flew and landed on the ground, upright, standing on its point. While she wasn't a member of A.C.M.E. anymore, the pen served as a keepsake and a last-ditch emergency help line.
A hologram of The Chief projected across the room, surprising everyone. Surveying the scene, she could see an unconscious Carmen and a weakened Julia, who mouthed the words "hospital. We need to go to the hospital…hurt badly…please help." Nodding, she spoke to everyone in the bar, who knew they would all have to speak English to this holographic figure.
"I'm not sure who you all are, but I thank you for aiding her in this time of need. Don't worry about expenses. She is being taken to Tokumori Hospital, as is Carmen," the Chief stated plainly.
Yukari answered on behalf of the women in the bar, even she didn't have the total right to do so.
"Ma'am, these women are strangers to us, but we'd like to stay with them as they go the hospital, if that's possible."
The Chief accepted this. "Very well, that goes for all of you…and you Miss…"
She introduced herself to this holographic figure. "Yukari Hayasaka, ma'am. I'm a professional model here in Tokyo."
The Chief smiled. She was glad to see such people around Carmen. "Thank you, Ms. Hayasaka and everyone here. We appreciate your efforts."
The pen fell to the ground as the message ceased. The fellow bar goers were angry at The Chief, feeling she was patronizing them. The loud clacking of high heels made everyone, especially the bar goers, tense up. A 35-year-old woman, Yuki, stepped out of the shadows and walked into the room. They wore professional business attire and a lime green tie. Yuki angrily shouted at the patrons for their disrespect.
"How can you say that about her? She just wanted to help us. She was genuinely concerned about the women in this establishment. We should remain positive, open-minded, and accept anyone helping one of our fallen comrades."
One of the women sighed. She couldn't believe she had to explain this.
"Yuki, I understand your position, but we can't afford a police raid here. She's clearly a cop or some form of one...I don't trust a woman who comes out of a fountain pen!"
Yuki rolled her eyes. She made one final statement.
"Fine. I'll agree to take both outside, to await vehicles to Tokumori Hospital. Please help me move them from the floor to the sidewalk."
Grumbling, the bar's patrons helped carry Carmen and Julia outside. Caroline also lent a hand since she still wanted to ask Carmen, a mysterious woman for her, if she was a model. If she wasn’t, perhaps she could encourage her to join the modeling business. The more friends she had in this tough industry the better.
The vans arrived on Dōseiai Street. Chi, otherwise known as Chizuru Sarashina, watched the scene on the street below from her fourth-floor office in the SRI skyscraper. Although only 22 years old, one year older than Yuri, she served as a middle manager in the company. Shaking her head, she groused about the damage to the window caused by Carmen and Julia smashing into it, accidentally.
Moving her hands wildly, her long hair blowing in the wind as air entered cracks in the windowpane, she shouted. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Those meddlesome kids. Don't they know responsibility! No one can afford to be carefree these days. The only thing that moves you forward is hard work and dedication…we can't all be gallivanting around! Those troublemakers should be dealt with using the full force of the law. There's no place for games on these streets."
This sentiment stood in stark contrast to her personality eight years before in junior high school. Back then, she acted often outrageously, impulsively, and unconventionally. Through this change, Momoko, often called Momo, a childhood friend, had stayed by her side, defending her from anyone deemed to be "bullying" her, whether true or false. The only aspect of herself that had remained, apart from her long hair, was her stylish clothes.