Synthesis (Steven Universe AU)
- Thread starter Mre
- Start date
of course, when the real answer to how human society functions is "they're forced to find work that someone wants to pay them to do or they'll starve", it's not exactly clear that that's better than the way the gems do things anyway. I bet if you looked at the percentage of people in each society who have jobs they hate, it'd be higher for humans.
But maybe this is getting too close to politics.
TheBleachDoctor
Secretly a Cat
- Location
- The Plane of Infinite Kittens
- Pronouns
- She/Her
She's only licensed for Kindergartens, not Chemistry!
Meetings 8.2
Chapter 8: Meetings
Part 2
Lapis Lazuli wasn't a very complicated gem. She just wanted to be left alone, to spend her days in the barn or surrounding fields with Peridot and Pumpkin, a nice peaceful life where she could put her past behind her. So when one of the ghosts of the past popped up and said hello, the only thing keeping her from lashing out was how close she was to Steven. And then Steven had started to explain everything. It was… she was fighting herself. I got stuck in that mirror for thousands of years because of her. She felt her fists curl involuntarily as she glared at Pink Diamond, who at least had the decency to look guilty as Steven explained what had happened to Lapis.
"And then the Crystal Gems freed her from Malachite and I showed her around Earth because she didn't want to go back to Homeworld, and then she decided to stay here at the barn. There was a bit of a problem with Peridot also staying here, but we worked it out and they're friends now!"
Pink gave Steven a small smile. "That's… that's wonderful Steven. I'm glad you were able to help her like that."
I wouldn't have needed "help" if I hadn't been stuck in that mirror in the first place! Lapis raged internally as Steven smiled up at his mother. Alright, keep calm, Steven is to close to her for you to lose control right now. She thought as Pink turned towards her. The larger gems eyes roamed across her, and Lapis watched as Pink Diamond, one of the most powerful gems in existence, flinched in fear of her. It was subtle, Steven and Peridot probably would never notice, but Lapis did. The shift of her stance as she got ready to put herself between Lapis and Steven, the hints of fear licking her eyes, all the other minor signs of a gem that understood how powerful Lapis was on a planet with as much water as this one. As she watched, Lapis felt more excited, more powerful, more… Like Malachite
Lapis shook her head, driving the voice away. In a moment, the tension in the air disappeared, Pink relaxed her stance, and Lapis felt a wave of guilt crash into her. I did it again. I thought I was moving past that but all it took was one flinch and it was like I was back there…
"Lapis?" Steven noticed her discomfort. "You doing ok?"
Lapis stared at him, looking into those eyes as her guilt threatened to drown her. I almost attacked Steven's mom in front of him she realized. She's a Diamond to me, but to him, she's his mom, and if I'd given in… she felt sick at the thought. Steven never would have forgiven her, and she would deserve it. She was just a monster, lashing out at everyone nearby and hurting them because she was so pitiful and weak and…
"Lapis!" Steven was holding her hand as he yelled. "Lapis what's going on?" He pleaded, eyes wide and watery as they looked into her soul. For a moment, she felt tempted to just tell the truth, just tell him everything, but she knew better. She knew from Peridots television shows that attacking a human's parent was one of the worst things someone could do, and if she told Steven that she had been tempted, he would never forgive her.
"I'm… I'm going to go get some fresh air" she said, pushing Steven's hand away and launching herself into the air, through the small opening where she and Peridot had attached a truck to the outside of the barn, and began to fly away.
After a few minutes, the rush of energy that made her fly away slipped away, and as she hung in the air looking out over the green lands below she wondered where she could even go. Every friend she ever had was back at the barn, and if she didn't come back… Would it be worth it? I'd be away from the Diamonds, from Pink and her web of lies, from Homeworld and the horrible monstrosity it became, from the Crystal Gems, who just left me in that mirror for thousands of years… but I'd also be away from Steven, and Pumpkin, and Peridot! I can't just leave them behind, but if I go back… If I go back, then a Diamond will know where I am, Homeworld will know where I am, and I know she said that she doesn't want to order us around, but I'm in Blue Diamonds court, and if she finds out that I'm here… Lapis shook her head at the thought, images of the cruel and harsh Homeworld she'd returned to burned into her mind.
I can't go back, but I can't leave Peridot behind. With that, she knew what she had to do. With a flap of her wings, she turned around, soaring back towards the barn as she put her thoughts together and tried to figure out what she would say. Landing just outside, she braced herself to walk back in… right as Pink Diamond walked out of the barn. For a few moments neither gem spoke, and Lapis took the time to brace herself to say her piece.
"Pink Diamond." She said, voice calm and in control. "Or Rose Quartz, or whoever you are, I… I need to ask you something. I need to know if you had anything to do with… with the mirror."
Pink shook her head. "I never would have approved something like that, and if I'd known you were still conscious when Pearl showed me the mirror I would have let you out, but I thought… I thought that you'd been harvested."
Lapis nodded. Because that's what happens to every other gem that gets stuck in something, why would they think I was anything special? "I see."
Before she could say anything else, Peridot came out of the barn. "Lapis! I thought I heard your voice out here! Now that you're back, we have important work to do!"
Lapis blinked in confusion. "Peridot, what are you talking about?"
"While you were gone, Pink Diamond informed me that she is researching the integration of organic and gem life, something I recommended that clod Yellow should do before my defection, proving that she truly is the most intelligent of the Diamonds by both coming up with the idea on her own and coming to me, the Great and Intelligent Peridot, the only gem in existence who has studied the creation of both types of life!"
Lapis looked back at Pink, who was blushing at Peridots words. "Well, it's not that big a deal…"
"Of course it is! Not only am I, the Peridot who called Yellow Diamond a clod, finally having my intelligence recognized, but I'm also basically getting away with my crimes with a slap on the wrist!" The small green gem crowed.
Lapis frowned. "Wait, what do you mean?"
"Oh, it's part of my cover story for the other Diamonds, I'm telling them that the band of rebels we found has been given a reduced sentence of exile on Earth in exchange for information about human-gem hybrids." Pink spoke up.
Lapis froze at her words, her mind racing. "So… I really am stuck on Earth then?" She felt a tinge of regret at the words. I knew I couldn't go back, and that Homeworld wasn't a place I wanted to go back to, so why does that hurt so much to hear?
"Well, technically you aren't a rebel, you aren't a Crystal Gem like the rest of us." Peridot pointed out. "But if you aren't listed as a rebel in Homeworlds systems, you'd probably have to go back to Blue Diamonds court."
Lapis nodded. "Yeah, so I'm stuck on Earth."
Steven pooped up. "With me!" He said, wrapping Lapis up in a hug.
"Yes Steven, with you. And with you two Peridot." Lapis gave her roommate a smile. "I don't know how much help I'll be with your new job, but…"
"Don't worry Lapis, you'll do great! It's all quite simple, and you're a very smart gem, you'll probably be running circles around whatever Homeworld gems come by to 'help' study Steven in a few months, couple years at most!"
Lapis tried to keep the doubt off her face as she nodded along. Oh Peridot, you still haven't figured out that things that seem simple to you aren't so simple for everyone else… wait… "Homeworld gems studying Steven?"
"Only a few, and only ones I trust with the truth." Pink said. "Peridot will be in charge, when I mentioned my plan she basically insisted, she already has a plan for some basic experiments written out on the chalkboard in the barn."
So she wasn't ordered to do it, that's nice. "Well, that sounds like you all have this under control."
"Oh not at all! I still need to make contact with human medical professionals and enlist their aid!" Peridot said.
"Uhhh, can that wait a couple days?" Steven interjected. "It's just, mom has to leave in a day or so, and she's got a lot of people to talk to before she goes."
Peridot blinked a few times in surprise. "Well of course! I still need to draw up a project plan and a list of equipment I'll need before I can begin actual studies." She walked confidently towards the barn, waving off Pink as she did. "You may leave to attend to your other business, I have planning to do!"
Steven looked like he was going to interject, but Pink stopped him. "It's ok Steven, I should be going anyway. Thank you for introducing me to your friends!"
Steven nodded. "Yeah, alright." as he hugged her and she turned to walk down the road. After a few moments, the two found themselves alone, and Steven turned to her and asked "so, Connie's school gets out soon, I could introduce you two!"
Lapis smiled. "Hop on." and the two flew away.
-----
Meeting with Steven's friends had been… interesting, but now it was time for a more personal meeting. Out near the barn, in a cluster of trees to shield herself from any curious eyes, Pink Diamond disappeared, and Rose Quartz walked the Earth. Standing between the trees, she took a moment to just… be. Taking in the sights and sounds of Earth, enjoying finally letting herself be Rose again, leaving the responsibility and pain of being Pink Diamond behind, if only temporarily, she walked through the forest. With every step she took, she felt herself growing lighter as the responsibilities she had gained over the months since her awakening slid off to the back of her mind, She knew she would have to carry the weight again soon, but that was a problem for the future. For now, she was Rose Quartz again, and she had a pair of very difficult conversations to have with the two people she held closest to her heart.
Strolling through the trees, she came across a small clearing with a dirt road leading towards the town, and a slender pale figure standing nervously off to the side. As Rose slipped out of the trees, Pearl turned to her, a look of nervous excitement on her face as Rose closed the distance and embraced her.
"I'm so sorry Pearl. I never should have given you that order, I didn't realize it would hurt you so much!" She was nearly crying as she squished Pearl into her chest. "I never should have given you that order, and I never should have lied about Bismuth, and there are so many other things that I should or shouldn't have done and"
"Rose." Pearl gently extracted herself from the hug. "I… I understand why you gave me that order, and I know you didn't want to hurt me." she sighed as she looked away "I just… I'm happy that your back, I'm happy that I can spend time with you again, but I spent years accepting that you were gone, and now it's just… difficult."
Rose nodded, her face locked in a sad smile. "I understand. Take as much time as you need, and if you want anything from me, just ask."
Pearl fidgeted a little. "Yes well, as much as I would enjoy a tour of some of the grand architecture of Homeworld I don't really want to deal with the gems that live in it."
Rose nodded. "Of course, their attitude towards Pearls has… not improved while I was gone. If there is anything else I can do…" She trailed off as Pearl shook her head.
"Rose, you've already given me my freedom, I can't ask you for anything else."
"Pearl, you took your own freedom, no one gave it to you. The only thing I've given you is heartache and pain, and I need to make it up to you! I can't just… I can't just pretend nothing happened."
"You're right." Pearl nodded. "But that doesn't mean you need to do some grand gesture of love. We both have grown as people, and we don't really have enough time right now to catch up on everything, so instead of some grand gesture out of those books you liked to read, perhaps we should simply talk and try to cover as much as we can before you have to leave again."
Rose nodded as she took a seat on a stump. "Alright, alright, you win Pearl." I've missed you so much.
Pearl stood in front of Rose, back straight as she began a lecture. "Now, since you have already explained the broad outlines of your own experiences, allow me to do the same for mine." Her gem began to glow as she projected an image of the beach house under construction. "Steven lived with Greg until he was old enough to walk and talk, at which point we took over responsibility for him…"
"I've been meaning to ask about that, why didn't Greg move into the house with Steven?"
Pearl got distinctly uncomfortable at the question. "Well, you see… for the longest time after your 'death' I was… less than kind to Greg, and I might have convinced Garnet and Amethyst to help me… push him away from us, and Steven was living with us so…" She hung her head and sighed. "I understand that it was petty and cruel of me, especially with how close Steven and Greg are, and I have no excuse for my actions, only an explanation."
Rose felt upset at the revelation, but not surprised. "I should have known something like that would happen. If I had just gotten you two to work together before I left then maybe…"
"You are not responsible for how I treated Gregory Rose, I am fully capable of making mistakes without you."
"But I knew you two didn't like each other, and I just pretended everything was fine!"
"And that hurt me, yes, but no matter how much you hurt me, I did not have the right to force Greg to live separate from Steven. We both messed up Rose."
"But if I hadn't…"
"If you hadn't been with Greg, you wouldn't have had Steven." Pearl cut her off. "You made a lot of mistakes Rose, but from the last few years I can honestly say that Steven was not one of them."
Rose felt taken aback. When did Pearl become so assertive? … I think I like it!
At her silence, Pearl continued. "However, you will be pleased to note that Steven helped me and Greg resolve our differences, and we consider each other friends."
Rose's face lit up at the news. "Pearl that's wonderful! How did it happen, was it slow or all at once? Tell me everything!"
Pearl was taken aback by her enthusiasm. "Rose, we are friends, nothing more, and to answer your question, we bonded over our shared grief at losing you." Rose felt a wide grin grow on her face as she motioned for Pearl to elaborate.
"It was just after Greg received a large amount of money, apparently one of his songs got sold to someone and he now has a plentiful supply of human currency. We took the opportunity to visit a large human settlement, Empire City, and spend the night in a luxurious hotel. During the course of our stay, me and Greg were forced by our close proximity to each other to discuss our feelings, and after he apologized for pursuing you even though he knew I was already with you, I confessed that I never hated him for that…" Pearl cut herself off as Rose looked at her curiously.
"Really? You never hated Greg for being interested in me?"
Pearl sighed and took a seat in front of Rose. "To be perfectly honest, while I resented him for his intrusion into our life, in the end you were the one who made the decision to date him, to have a child with him. You chose him, and that hurt me."
Rose felt tears in her eyes as she tried to find the words to explain herself, but Pearl cut her off. "Please do not make a fuss about it, I've had plenty of time to come to terms with your actions Rose."
Rose nodded mutely, and Pearl shook her head in response. "I should have started with something more entertaining. Oh! I know, let me tell you the story of the Lunar Sea Spire! Steven was just getting old enough to go on missions with us, and he had bought this backpack in the shape of a cheeseburger…"
As Pearl launched into story after story about Steven and his adventures, Rose couldn't help but feel that she was trying to distract her, but she could tell that Pearl was done talking about the bad parts of the past for now, and trying to bring the conversation back around to that topic would not be appreciated, so she kept silent and smiled as Pearl showed a hologram of Steven distracting Crystal Shrimp with a sandwich.
And hoped that one day she would be able to make up for all the pain she caused the people she cared about.
-----
Authors Notes:
Hi everyone, this chapter needed a couple rewrites before I was comfortable publishing it, and I'm still not 100% on it. If you see any problems, don't hesitate to let me know, and if you actually liked it, please let me know what I did right so I can do it again in the future.
Part 2
Lapis Lazuli wasn't a very complicated gem. She just wanted to be left alone, to spend her days in the barn or surrounding fields with Peridot and Pumpkin, a nice peaceful life where she could put her past behind her. So when one of the ghosts of the past popped up and said hello, the only thing keeping her from lashing out was how close she was to Steven. And then Steven had started to explain everything. It was… she was fighting herself. I got stuck in that mirror for thousands of years because of her. She felt her fists curl involuntarily as she glared at Pink Diamond, who at least had the decency to look guilty as Steven explained what had happened to Lapis.
"And then the Crystal Gems freed her from Malachite and I showed her around Earth because she didn't want to go back to Homeworld, and then she decided to stay here at the barn. There was a bit of a problem with Peridot also staying here, but we worked it out and they're friends now!"
Pink gave Steven a small smile. "That's… that's wonderful Steven. I'm glad you were able to help her like that."
I wouldn't have needed "help" if I hadn't been stuck in that mirror in the first place! Lapis raged internally as Steven smiled up at his mother. Alright, keep calm, Steven is to close to her for you to lose control right now. She thought as Pink turned towards her. The larger gems eyes roamed across her, and Lapis watched as Pink Diamond, one of the most powerful gems in existence, flinched in fear of her. It was subtle, Steven and Peridot probably would never notice, but Lapis did. The shift of her stance as she got ready to put herself between Lapis and Steven, the hints of fear licking her eyes, all the other minor signs of a gem that understood how powerful Lapis was on a planet with as much water as this one. As she watched, Lapis felt more excited, more powerful, more… Like Malachite
Lapis shook her head, driving the voice away. In a moment, the tension in the air disappeared, Pink relaxed her stance, and Lapis felt a wave of guilt crash into her. I did it again. I thought I was moving past that but all it took was one flinch and it was like I was back there…
"Lapis?" Steven noticed her discomfort. "You doing ok?"
Lapis stared at him, looking into those eyes as her guilt threatened to drown her. I almost attacked Steven's mom in front of him she realized. She's a Diamond to me, but to him, she's his mom, and if I'd given in… she felt sick at the thought. Steven never would have forgiven her, and she would deserve it. She was just a monster, lashing out at everyone nearby and hurting them because she was so pitiful and weak and…
"Lapis!" Steven was holding her hand as he yelled. "Lapis what's going on?" He pleaded, eyes wide and watery as they looked into her soul. For a moment, she felt tempted to just tell the truth, just tell him everything, but she knew better. She knew from Peridots television shows that attacking a human's parent was one of the worst things someone could do, and if she told Steven that she had been tempted, he would never forgive her.
"I'm… I'm going to go get some fresh air" she said, pushing Steven's hand away and launching herself into the air, through the small opening where she and Peridot had attached a truck to the outside of the barn, and began to fly away.
After a few minutes, the rush of energy that made her fly away slipped away, and as she hung in the air looking out over the green lands below she wondered where she could even go. Every friend she ever had was back at the barn, and if she didn't come back… Would it be worth it? I'd be away from the Diamonds, from Pink and her web of lies, from Homeworld and the horrible monstrosity it became, from the Crystal Gems, who just left me in that mirror for thousands of years… but I'd also be away from Steven, and Pumpkin, and Peridot! I can't just leave them behind, but if I go back… If I go back, then a Diamond will know where I am, Homeworld will know where I am, and I know she said that she doesn't want to order us around, but I'm in Blue Diamonds court, and if she finds out that I'm here… Lapis shook her head at the thought, images of the cruel and harsh Homeworld she'd returned to burned into her mind.
I can't go back, but I can't leave Peridot behind. With that, she knew what she had to do. With a flap of her wings, she turned around, soaring back towards the barn as she put her thoughts together and tried to figure out what she would say. Landing just outside, she braced herself to walk back in… right as Pink Diamond walked out of the barn. For a few moments neither gem spoke, and Lapis took the time to brace herself to say her piece.
"Pink Diamond." She said, voice calm and in control. "Or Rose Quartz, or whoever you are, I… I need to ask you something. I need to know if you had anything to do with… with the mirror."
Pink shook her head. "I never would have approved something like that, and if I'd known you were still conscious when Pearl showed me the mirror I would have let you out, but I thought… I thought that you'd been harvested."
Lapis nodded. Because that's what happens to every other gem that gets stuck in something, why would they think I was anything special? "I see."
Before she could say anything else, Peridot came out of the barn. "Lapis! I thought I heard your voice out here! Now that you're back, we have important work to do!"
Lapis blinked in confusion. "Peridot, what are you talking about?"
"While you were gone, Pink Diamond informed me that she is researching the integration of organic and gem life, something I recommended that clod Yellow should do before my defection, proving that she truly is the most intelligent of the Diamonds by both coming up with the idea on her own and coming to me, the Great and Intelligent Peridot, the only gem in existence who has studied the creation of both types of life!"
Lapis looked back at Pink, who was blushing at Peridots words. "Well, it's not that big a deal…"
"Of course it is! Not only am I, the Peridot who called Yellow Diamond a clod, finally having my intelligence recognized, but I'm also basically getting away with my crimes with a slap on the wrist!" The small green gem crowed.
Lapis frowned. "Wait, what do you mean?"
"Oh, it's part of my cover story for the other Diamonds, I'm telling them that the band of rebels we found has been given a reduced sentence of exile on Earth in exchange for information about human-gem hybrids." Pink spoke up.
Lapis froze at her words, her mind racing. "So… I really am stuck on Earth then?" She felt a tinge of regret at the words. I knew I couldn't go back, and that Homeworld wasn't a place I wanted to go back to, so why does that hurt so much to hear?
"Well, technically you aren't a rebel, you aren't a Crystal Gem like the rest of us." Peridot pointed out. "But if you aren't listed as a rebel in Homeworlds systems, you'd probably have to go back to Blue Diamonds court."
Lapis nodded. "Yeah, so I'm stuck on Earth."
Steven pooped up. "With me!" He said, wrapping Lapis up in a hug.
"Yes Steven, with you. And with you two Peridot." Lapis gave her roommate a smile. "I don't know how much help I'll be with your new job, but…"
"Don't worry Lapis, you'll do great! It's all quite simple, and you're a very smart gem, you'll probably be running circles around whatever Homeworld gems come by to 'help' study Steven in a few months, couple years at most!"
Lapis tried to keep the doubt off her face as she nodded along. Oh Peridot, you still haven't figured out that things that seem simple to you aren't so simple for everyone else… wait… "Homeworld gems studying Steven?"
"Only a few, and only ones I trust with the truth." Pink said. "Peridot will be in charge, when I mentioned my plan she basically insisted, she already has a plan for some basic experiments written out on the chalkboard in the barn."
So she wasn't ordered to do it, that's nice. "Well, that sounds like you all have this under control."
"Oh not at all! I still need to make contact with human medical professionals and enlist their aid!" Peridot said.
"Uhhh, can that wait a couple days?" Steven interjected. "It's just, mom has to leave in a day or so, and she's got a lot of people to talk to before she goes."
Peridot blinked a few times in surprise. "Well of course! I still need to draw up a project plan and a list of equipment I'll need before I can begin actual studies." She walked confidently towards the barn, waving off Pink as she did. "You may leave to attend to your other business, I have planning to do!"
Steven looked like he was going to interject, but Pink stopped him. "It's ok Steven, I should be going anyway. Thank you for introducing me to your friends!"
Steven nodded. "Yeah, alright." as he hugged her and she turned to walk down the road. After a few moments, the two found themselves alone, and Steven turned to her and asked "so, Connie's school gets out soon, I could introduce you two!"
Lapis smiled. "Hop on." and the two flew away.
-----
Meeting with Steven's friends had been… interesting, but now it was time for a more personal meeting. Out near the barn, in a cluster of trees to shield herself from any curious eyes, Pink Diamond disappeared, and Rose Quartz walked the Earth. Standing between the trees, she took a moment to just… be. Taking in the sights and sounds of Earth, enjoying finally letting herself be Rose again, leaving the responsibility and pain of being Pink Diamond behind, if only temporarily, she walked through the forest. With every step she took, she felt herself growing lighter as the responsibilities she had gained over the months since her awakening slid off to the back of her mind, She knew she would have to carry the weight again soon, but that was a problem for the future. For now, she was Rose Quartz again, and she had a pair of very difficult conversations to have with the two people she held closest to her heart.
Strolling through the trees, she came across a small clearing with a dirt road leading towards the town, and a slender pale figure standing nervously off to the side. As Rose slipped out of the trees, Pearl turned to her, a look of nervous excitement on her face as Rose closed the distance and embraced her.
"I'm so sorry Pearl. I never should have given you that order, I didn't realize it would hurt you so much!" She was nearly crying as she squished Pearl into her chest. "I never should have given you that order, and I never should have lied about Bismuth, and there are so many other things that I should or shouldn't have done and"
"Rose." Pearl gently extracted herself from the hug. "I… I understand why you gave me that order, and I know you didn't want to hurt me." she sighed as she looked away "I just… I'm happy that your back, I'm happy that I can spend time with you again, but I spent years accepting that you were gone, and now it's just… difficult."
Rose nodded, her face locked in a sad smile. "I understand. Take as much time as you need, and if you want anything from me, just ask."
Pearl fidgeted a little. "Yes well, as much as I would enjoy a tour of some of the grand architecture of Homeworld I don't really want to deal with the gems that live in it."
Rose nodded. "Of course, their attitude towards Pearls has… not improved while I was gone. If there is anything else I can do…" She trailed off as Pearl shook her head.
"Rose, you've already given me my freedom, I can't ask you for anything else."
"Pearl, you took your own freedom, no one gave it to you. The only thing I've given you is heartache and pain, and I need to make it up to you! I can't just… I can't just pretend nothing happened."
"You're right." Pearl nodded. "But that doesn't mean you need to do some grand gesture of love. We both have grown as people, and we don't really have enough time right now to catch up on everything, so instead of some grand gesture out of those books you liked to read, perhaps we should simply talk and try to cover as much as we can before you have to leave again."
Rose nodded as she took a seat on a stump. "Alright, alright, you win Pearl." I've missed you so much.
Pearl stood in front of Rose, back straight as she began a lecture. "Now, since you have already explained the broad outlines of your own experiences, allow me to do the same for mine." Her gem began to glow as she projected an image of the beach house under construction. "Steven lived with Greg until he was old enough to walk and talk, at which point we took over responsibility for him…"
"I've been meaning to ask about that, why didn't Greg move into the house with Steven?"
Pearl got distinctly uncomfortable at the question. "Well, you see… for the longest time after your 'death' I was… less than kind to Greg, and I might have convinced Garnet and Amethyst to help me… push him away from us, and Steven was living with us so…" She hung her head and sighed. "I understand that it was petty and cruel of me, especially with how close Steven and Greg are, and I have no excuse for my actions, only an explanation."
Rose felt upset at the revelation, but not surprised. "I should have known something like that would happen. If I had just gotten you two to work together before I left then maybe…"
"You are not responsible for how I treated Gregory Rose, I am fully capable of making mistakes without you."
"But I knew you two didn't like each other, and I just pretended everything was fine!"
"And that hurt me, yes, but no matter how much you hurt me, I did not have the right to force Greg to live separate from Steven. We both messed up Rose."
"But if I hadn't…"
"If you hadn't been with Greg, you wouldn't have had Steven." Pearl cut her off. "You made a lot of mistakes Rose, but from the last few years I can honestly say that Steven was not one of them."
Rose felt taken aback. When did Pearl become so assertive? … I think I like it!
At her silence, Pearl continued. "However, you will be pleased to note that Steven helped me and Greg resolve our differences, and we consider each other friends."
Rose's face lit up at the news. "Pearl that's wonderful! How did it happen, was it slow or all at once? Tell me everything!"
Pearl was taken aback by her enthusiasm. "Rose, we are friends, nothing more, and to answer your question, we bonded over our shared grief at losing you." Rose felt a wide grin grow on her face as she motioned for Pearl to elaborate.
"It was just after Greg received a large amount of money, apparently one of his songs got sold to someone and he now has a plentiful supply of human currency. We took the opportunity to visit a large human settlement, Empire City, and spend the night in a luxurious hotel. During the course of our stay, me and Greg were forced by our close proximity to each other to discuss our feelings, and after he apologized for pursuing you even though he knew I was already with you, I confessed that I never hated him for that…" Pearl cut herself off as Rose looked at her curiously.
"Really? You never hated Greg for being interested in me?"
Pearl sighed and took a seat in front of Rose. "To be perfectly honest, while I resented him for his intrusion into our life, in the end you were the one who made the decision to date him, to have a child with him. You chose him, and that hurt me."
Rose felt tears in her eyes as she tried to find the words to explain herself, but Pearl cut her off. "Please do not make a fuss about it, I've had plenty of time to come to terms with your actions Rose."
Rose nodded mutely, and Pearl shook her head in response. "I should have started with something more entertaining. Oh! I know, let me tell you the story of the Lunar Sea Spire! Steven was just getting old enough to go on missions with us, and he had bought this backpack in the shape of a cheeseburger…"
As Pearl launched into story after story about Steven and his adventures, Rose couldn't help but feel that she was trying to distract her, but she could tell that Pearl was done talking about the bad parts of the past for now, and trying to bring the conversation back around to that topic would not be appreciated, so she kept silent and smiled as Pearl showed a hologram of Steven distracting Crystal Shrimp with a sandwich.
And hoped that one day she would be able to make up for all the pain she caused the people she cared about.
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Authors Notes:
Hi everyone, this chapter needed a couple rewrites before I was comfortable publishing it, and I'm still not 100% on it. If you see any problems, don't hesitate to let me know, and if you actually liked it, please let me know what I did right so I can do it again in the future.
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Hey I found a spelling mistake this where it supposed to say them but it said thme
...
You know, at this point I was worried there would be zero comments between this chapter and the next one, so this is a welcome surprise. Fixed
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On that note, is there something I should be doing to increase engagement with this story? I don't want to seem desperate, it's just I love talking about how a story will go with my readers and knowing people are interested enough to speculate about my story, and it feels kind of demoralizing to see zero comments after the chapter has been up for a day.
serra2
Himouto! Sylvanas-chan
Eh, not that I know of. This chapter does not really have a lot of big drama with which to spark discussion. After the bigger blow up with Pearl, Garnet, and Bismuth, this one really feels like a breather before the big crisis of dealing with Homeworld again.
I like this thought, because so true for any being, whatever non fiction or fiction plane of existence, because humans (essentially our species) think things are simple for others from aliens, gods, monsters or even each other, but the truth is that life isn't simple for anyone. Not for the diamonds, out fellow co workers, kryptonians, etc. And this could be used for foreshadowing for what pink said
Since from a point of view of a person who wanted powers badly, and see the gems as godlike beings since they have immortality, magical properties, no organs for anything that a human would do, regenerative ability, which some of which would be removed by the human half, which would be seen as a disadvantage like the scene with lex Luthor and Smallvile Superman in crisis on infinite earths where Lex was complaining about Superman giving up his powers for a family. And the diamonds would not be interested in low level gem hybrid considering they don't keep track of their gems, such as they don't care about losing a gem that isn't a diamond such as the first few pages of this Au, where about the diamonds giving pink diamond a new pearl to replace her second one. Secondly, the diamonds reaction to the rebels being alive wouldn't be cast, and they are not merciful, as shown to other gems and even pink diamond, and they held grudges, especially evident with pink diamond, about things from the past, and if pink diamond decide to tell the diamonds that the hybrid gem was from Rose quartz, yeah no mercy shown to the hybrid gem aka Steven from the diamonds
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- Location
- Newcastle Upon Tyne
I have the same feeling about my own work.
On a related note, Lapis is probably wrong about Steven being unable to forgive her for feeling tempted to attack Pink Diamond, considering, you know Bismuth, and Lapis having an equally good reason for being unable to forgive Rose.
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Yes, Pink might find that the other Diamonds are less willing to live and let live than she is, but she didn't exactly have any good options. A good chunk of her court came into contact with the Crystal Gems, even if they were mostly Quartz soldiers, so she needed to give an official announcement of some sort to explain why they weren't allowed to start cracking skulls. However, technically Lapis and Peridot are probably "rebels" by Homeworlds standards, and there's nothing saying she has to provide a list of gems that are being pardoned more comprehensive than "A Peridot, a Lapis Lazuli, and their companions, including a pair of humans."
And while gem hybrids might seem like a step down from regular gems, keep in mind Steven is still growing into his power in canon, and Pink has her own reasons for believing that humans do things better than gems and wanting to combine the best of both worlds. And thankfully, with White's approval for Pink to play around with organics, the other Diamonds opinions on hybrids don't matter so long as White doesn't change her mind.
Well I don't know about equally good, direct vs indirect and all that, but yeah Lapis would probably have been forgiven by Steven. The big issue though is that she doesn't know that, she was in the middle of a panic attack and doesn't know about how the meeting with Bismuth went down, of course she jumped to the worst case scenario.
- Location
- The Internet
The Bismuth chapter (here) has not been thread marked.
[/QUOTE]
I'm surprised this part of last chapter went uncommented on, especially considering the discussion on gem civilisation and it's 'stability'. Because gem society almost collapsing several times in a mere century is an extremely bad record.
This also brings into question exactly how automated gem society is. Because gem civilisation has ridiculously advanced technology, and even with a strong taboo against creating AI's, gem society really shouldn't need mining or factory to be done by gem physical labour due to just how much machines and vehicles can bolster productivity.
I'm also interested in the notion of 'dangerous jobs', because an indefinite lifespan and the sheer difficulty on making new gems should lead to strict workplace safety and almost zero death rate. On the other hand, the Diamond Authority routinely acts like gem life is disposable and that colonising planets is actually dangerous when neither of these attitude make that much sense within the setting.
And once again, a Steven Universe fit uses irony masterfully. Because the idea of Steven never forgiving people who were angr
The thing is, gem-human hybrids are in practice just a more extreme version of a rejuvenator, except with a total ego reboot. Just turn a gem you don't want into a hybrid, wait a few decades, then 'poof' their organic body and let them reform as a now inorganic gem. Bismuth established that the Diamond Authority uses rejuvenators to reset gems, and hybridisation has the potential to re-use gems with problems rejunvating doesn't cure.
Yeah, Pink Diamond has ended up creating a brand new problem for herself.
Telling Yellow and Blue that she approached the Crystal Gems without any bodyguards, including 'Rose Quartz', and then pardoned the crystal gems, is going to cause Pink a ton of new problems. Because Pink's come off as suicidal and to soft hearted to lead, so she's undermined her own independence, while at the very same time telling Yellow and Blue Diamond where to find the Crystal Gems and 'Rose Quartz'.
[/QUOTE]"My apologies, but you understand my fear My Diamond? Without the ability to respond to labor shortages by producing more gems of the needed type, there were several different points in the last century where our civilization could have collapsed!"
[/QUOTE]
I'm surprised this part of last chapter went uncommented on, especially considering the discussion on gem civilisation and it's 'stability'. Because gem society almost collapsing several times in a mere century is an extremely bad record.
This also brings into question exactly how automated gem society is. Because gem civilisation has ridiculously advanced technology, and even with a strong taboo against creating AI's, gem society really shouldn't need mining or factory to be done by gem physical labour due to just how much machines and vehicles can bolster productivity.
I'm also interested in the notion of 'dangerous jobs', because an indefinite lifespan and the sheer difficulty on making new gems should lead to strict workplace safety and almost zero death rate. On the other hand, the Diamond Authority routinely acts like gem life is disposable and that colonising planets is actually dangerous when neither of these attitude make that much sense within the setting.
And once again, a Steven Universe fit uses irony masterfully. Because the idea of Steven never forgiving people who were angr
The thing is, gem-human hybrids are in practice just a more extreme version of a rejuvenator, except with a total ego reboot. Just turn a gem you don't want into a hybrid, wait a few decades, then 'poof' their organic body and let them reform as a now inorganic gem. Bismuth established that the Diamond Authority uses rejuvenators to reset gems, and hybridisation has the potential to re-use gems with problems rejunvating doesn't cure.
Yeah, Pink Diamond has ended up creating a brand new problem for herself.
Telling Yellow and Blue that she approached the Crystal Gems without any bodyguards, including 'Rose Quartz', and then pardoned the crystal gems, is going to cause Pink a ton of new problems. Because Pink's come off as suicidal and to soft hearted to lead, so she's undermined her own independence, while at the very same time telling Yellow and Blue Diamond where to find the Crystal Gems and 'Rose Quartz'.
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- Location
- Newcastle Upon Tyne
The only solution I can see short of telling the actual truth, would be to say "Rose Quartz" was acting under her orders to kill her, since it was the only way to end the conflict and it's true in a way while also appealing to the sense of Pride that Diamonds have about being supposedly invincible.
Though of course, the implication is that since neither Peridot nor Lapis were involved in the war, Rose will just pardon them and their entourage without naming names.
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- Location
- Kansas
On Hybrids, I think the goal is to create brand-new gems for the hyrids rather then implanting existing gems into organics like in the fanfiction Fossils.
As for 'Rose Quartz', the Rubies are still drifting in space at the moment, so Yellow and Blue have no idea that Steven/'Rose' is still on Earth. Also none of the gems Pink brought with her saw a Rose Quartz gem among the rebels outside of Steven, and Pink is going with the story that Steven was a hybrid experiment created by Rose.
This makes it much easier for Yellow and Blue to accept. All they will know is that Pink is pardoning a few lowly rebel soldiers whose leader has already died in exchange to study Rose's hybrid experiment that may help Pink's current research project.
So while Yellow and Blue might still give Pink a hard time, it won't be as bad as it could have been if they were convinced that Steven was Rose the diamond breaker.
Why tell the other diamonds anything about "Rose" as far as they'll know, Rose is dead. The last they heard of Rose was before they unleashed the corrupting light upon Earth. They haven't gotten a report about Steven yet, so they will likely believe what Pink tells them about the Hybrid. The only gems that might argue otherwise are a squad of rubies. No offense to the rubies, but I doubt Yellow or Blue will believe the rubies over Pink.
As for Lapis, Peridot pointed out that Lapis isn't technically a Crystal Gem. She could have decided to leave Earth and return to Blue Diamond's court. Instead she then declared herself a Crystal Gem, which means she has to share their current exile.
And then Peridot, unless Yellow is really pissed, I don't think calling her a clod is a shatterable offense. If Yellow heards that Pink has put that mouthy little green gem to good use, I'm sure Yellow would be fine with Peridot being left on Earth.
You know, I could see Yellow actually considering what Pink is doing with the rebel gems on Earth. The gem empire is in a resource shortage at the moment. Sure, with Pink's return that shortage is coming to an end, but even still, growing new gems takes time. Until then, getting some use out of worthless gems is something I could see Yellow considering. So rather then shattering off-colors or disobedient gems, who haven't cause any major problems, she might instead ship the bubbled gems off to Earth hoping that Pink might be able to get some use out of them in her organic research project.
Pink on the other hand would likely be happy to receive them as long as they aren't violent gems. Gems that simply want to fuse, have issues with the cast system, or were simply created off-color, are exactly the types of gems that created the original Crystal Gems.
Meetings 8.3
Chapter 8: Meetings
Part 3
As Pearl recounted story after story about life on Earth after Rose "left", Rose found herself feeling worse and worse. They all went through so much because of me, and even though Pearl puts on a happy face I can tell when she's skipping over something because she doesn't want me to feel bad. If I'd just been here to help them… if I had, Steven wouldn't have been born, and Pearl made it very clear that she wouldn't want that. She sighed, hanging her head as Pearl paused in the middle of her story of playing a game of baseball against a squad of Rubies.
"Rose, are you…"
"I'm fine Pearl."
"You don't seem fine."
"I…" Rose lifted her head to meet Pearls gaze and was reminded of a human legend about eyes being the windows to the soul. It's like she's politely asking to be let in while getting the battering ram ready if I say no.
"It's not something you can help with Pearl, just the same old regrets I've been having for a long time."
Pearl nodded. "I understand. It gets easier, with time, and if you ever need to talk to somebody you know you can always talk to me."
"Thank you Pearl." Rose responded with a nod. "Now, you were in the middle of a story?"
"Yes I was! Now let's see, where was I…? Oh yes, the final inning, we needed one more run to win, and Steven had to tell Sapphire to stop flirting with Ruby after she missed the first two pitches, and then Sapphire finally managed to hit it and ran around the bases… right into Rubies arms, and they formed Garnet instantly. At that point our cover was blown, and we all got ready for a fight, but the Rubies were apparently just there to find Jasper, and Steven told them she was on Neptune and they believed it!"
Rose let out a small chuckle at that. "And then what? I noticed their ship parked up at the barn, at least I'm assuming that Roaming Eye was theirs. What happened then?"
Pearl got distinctly uncomfortable at that question. "Well, after they searched the rest of the solar system they came back looking for Jasper, but Jasper… wasn't around, so Amethyst came up with the idea of pretending to be Jasper and saying she couldn't leave and they should go back to Homeworld." She shifted her weight from foot to foot as she avoided Rose's eyes. "Well, anyways we ended up in the moonbase and Steven… Steven heard the official story of what happened to Pink Diamond."
Rose nodded, comprehension dawning in her mind. "The murals, one of the Rubies recognizes it?"
"Yes."
"And their ship?"
"They found us out and we knocked them into space and stole their ship."
Rose blinked in surprise. "Are… are they still out there?"
"Yes." Pearl said guiltily. "We just, left them there. You should probably pick them up on your way out."
"Yes" Rose nodded. "I should."
"..."
"Pearl?"
"Yes?"
"After everything I've done, and everything I didn't do, is it even possible for me to make up for it all? Everything that Steven went through with Homeworld gems is my fault, and then there's all the gems that were made weaker because of the resource shortages, and all the gems that were shattered to form The Cluster…"
Pearl grabbed her shoulder. "Yes."
"How can you just say that? After everything I did!"
"Because you regret it. If you did all of those things and didn't regret it, because you had convinced yourself they 'had to be done' or some other ridiculous justification like Blue and Yellow make, then I would say you can't make up for your actions. But as long as you understand why it was wrong, you'll be able to try and make things right. You might not be able to change the past, but you can change your future."
Rose looked over at Pearl in surprise. "That's… that's pretty thoughtful Pearl."
"Yes, well, I have been thinking about this for a while. Although I can't take all of the credit on that, Greg helped a little."
Not only did Pearl get help from Greg, but she also admitted to it? Will wonders never cease? Rose thought with a smile on her face.
"Speaking of Greg, I think there's something we need to discuss Rose."
And like that, the moment is gone. "Alright."
"I had Steven show me how to use a human communications device yesterday, I'll call Greg and when he gets here… the three of us will need to discuss our future."
A wave of emotions crashed through Rose's mind. Hope, from the way the two had seemingly become friends since her departure, and fear, fear that one or both of them would leave her. But none of that showed on her face as she silently nodded.
-----
Pearl spent the time waiting for Greg to arrive with another silly story about Steven, but neither of their hearts were truly in it, and when his van pulled up the two gems simply let the story die off.
Soon enough, the three were sitting in a circle, Greg in the back of the van, Pearl on a stump, and Rose on the ground.
"So… how are we starting this?" Greg asked.
"Well, I think we all understand what the situation was when Rose… left, correct?"
A pair of affirmatives answered Pearls question.
"Good! In that case, all we need to discuss is how we intend to move forward! Now, me and Greg had a discussion about this yesterday, and we came to a decision about how we want to move forward." She braced herself before continuing. "Based on our conversation yesterday, neither of us believe that jumping right back into things the way they were before is a good idea. That situation caused far to much discord between us, and as a result we need to try and figure out a different way to handle our feelings. Additionally, while I still have feelings for you, I feel that the amount of time we have been apart has changed both of us, and we need to get to know each other better before we can make a long-term decision on our relationship."
Greg nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I'm going to be honest Rose I'm not the man I used to be, and with how much you've changed…" He shook his head. " We shouldn't just jump back into this. I still love you, and I would be happy to spend some time getting to know you again, but with all of your responsibilities and how much we've both changed…" He trailed off, shrugging his shoulders as if to say what can you do?
Rose felt like she'd been punched. Well, she reflected, it could have been worse: they're still willing to give it a try, and I can't even say that they're wrong about how much we've all changed… She looked back and forth between the two of them before hanging her head and sighing.
"You're right, both of you." She told them, and in response they both let out a sigh of relief, which brought a small smile to Rose's lips. "I always knew you two would get along if you just took the time to get to know each other." She said quietly.
"Yeah, well, I didn't exactly give Pearl many reasons to want to spend time with me." Greg said.
"It's not all your fault, I should have brought my issues up with Rose instead of taking them out on you.
"Yeah well, I should have taken a hint."
"Probably" Pearl agreed with him, eliciting a small chuckle from him as Rose slowly wrapped her head around the idea of her two companions actually getting along.
Rose let out a small chuckle. "You two really have changed a lot, I can't even imagine the two of you being so relaxed around each other back before I…" She trailed off, wincing in regret.
"Yeah, it wasn't all good times and rainbows, but we managed to work it out." Greg said. "Especially after the incident with my van that first winter…" he trailed off, giving Pearl a knowing look as she blushed.
"What incident?"
"Nothing!" Pearl shouted as Greg started to laugh. "It was nothing, we just… were having trouble adjusting to your absence and… had a misunderstanding of the situation with Steven. We figured it out though, and no harm no foul!"
"Easy for you to say, that dog was out for blood!"
"What dog!?!?!" Rose asked.
"Don't worry about the dog Rose, it didn't catch me."
"Why was a dog chasing you!?!?"
"Because we took Steven and the van."
"What?! Why?!" Rose was getting more confused by the second even as Pearl and Greg shared a knowing look.
"Well, it all started with my crashing at Vidallia's place one day…"
"Alright well I think I have taken up enough of Rose's time for the day I'll just head back to town to get some chores done have fun you to bye!" Pearl said, fast-walking out of the clearing towards town as Greg smirked.
"Pearl wait! I'll drop the teasing if it bothers you that much…"
Pearl turned around "Thank you Greg, but I really have taken up to much of Rose's time today, you should spend some time with her as well." She said before turning to leave once again.
"I'm not sure I want to know anymore…" Rose said as she watched Pearl leave.
"Well, what do you want to talk about?"
Rose turned to him, a serious look on her face as she tried to focus. "I just… you're sure you two aren't going to go back to fighting once I figure out how to spend more time here? I really enjoyed seeing you two getting along."
"Well yeah, me and Pearl might have our differences, and sometimes we get into fights, but at the end of the day we're friends now."
"Just friends?" Rose asked, and as she saw Greg's face she realized that she should have kept her fantasies in her own head.
"Yes Rose. If I'm going to be honest there's basically no chance of anything else happening: Pearl and me are both attracted to… well… to women like you, and neither of us are women like you. Plus at this point it would just be all sorts of awkward even if we did work past that. So yes, we are just friends."
Rose nodded, a blush on her cheeks. "I… sorry, that was a little inappropriate of me. I just want the two of you to be happy."
"I know Rose." He replied. "But I am happy like this. I've gotten more out of my life than any other dumb kid who dropped out of community college to become a rock star ever has: a wonderful relationship with a beautiful woman, an amazing kid, and a ten million dollar royalties check! I might not have a few thousand years to enjoy what I've got like you do, but I've honestly got a better life than most humans."
Rose flinched at the mention of his mortality, the constant fear that had been in the back of her mind ever since she'd seen just how much he'd aged physically since she'd seen him last. "What if you did?" She whispered.
"Hmmm?"
"What if you did have thousands of years?"
"Rose, I'm a human, we don't…"
"Just humor me Greg, please."
Greg gave her a strange look before shrugging. "Would I get to be young again to? Because I'm going to be honest, I'm starting to get aches and pains that I would rather not deal with for eternity." At Rose's nod, he got a thoughtful look in his eyes. "Well… if I'm being honest, once Steven moves off to college I might call up some old friends and see if they can get me a gig or something, take advantage of the younger body and years of experience. Other than that, maybe go to college myself?" He shrugged. "Why are you asking?"
Rose hesitated for a moment before responding. No more secrets, not for him, or Pearl, or the others. "Because I'm looking into seeing if I can make it happen." At Greg's look of confusion, she elaborated: "Steven is likely going to live much longer than a human because he's a hybrid, and since I have a court full of researchers I was thinking maybe I could transfer some resources to research how hybrids work and maybe if an already-born human can become one."
Greg stared at her for a minute before a smile appeared on his face. "Well, that's one way to take advantage of a bad situation."
"Yes well, what good is having power if I can't help the people I care about?"
"Pretty sure that counts as abuse of power… but then again from what Pearl's told me compared to the other Diamonds that's downright tame." Greg said with a laugh before getting contemplative for a moment. "Hey Rose, could you… not tell Steven about this? Just until we know if it'll work? I don't want to get his hopes up, I don't really know how he's going to react and I don't want to hurt him if it doesn't work." Greg frowned. "Honestly I don't know how I'm going to react if it does work."
Rose was confused. "What do you mean?"
"Nothing, just an old man musing about life and death, it'll be fine. But seriously, I don't want Steven to get his hopes up for this until we know it'll work."
"... Alright."
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Rose had spent another hour talking about less serious topics with Greg: how he had been, what Steven was up to, what new stories he'd been reading, until they had been interrupted by the growl of Greg's stomach. Telling Greg to go get dinner by himself, she found herself alone in the clearing. With a sigh and a flash of light, Pink Diamond stood where Rose had been. Walking back to her ship, she felt her true self hide away as the weight of being a Diamond once again settled on her shoulders. One more trip down to the planet as Rose, and then I have to go back to this all the time again. She thought as she walked through the corridors, the gems of her court throwing salutes as she passed by.
Her musings were interrupted by a report that flashed on her screen:
Courier ship from Homeworld arrived in system two hours ago. Contained an urgent request for Pink Diamond to contact the rest of the authority and included a spare Diamond Communicator as cargo.
Per your orders we commanded them to hold orbit while you conducted your business down on the planet.
A heavy weight settled in her stomach as she read the words, and as she gave permission for the courier ship to dock with her own she braced herself for the conversation to come.
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Authors Notes:
For todays chapter I tried a new writing method: in the past I wrote until i felt like stopping, and then just went to do something else, while this time when I felt like stopping I switched to another fic I've been bouncing around in my head. This method let me get todays chapter finished a day earlier than normal, so I think I'll be sticking with it.
As always, let me know what you think of this chapter, and thanks for reading.
Part 3
As Pearl recounted story after story about life on Earth after Rose "left", Rose found herself feeling worse and worse. They all went through so much because of me, and even though Pearl puts on a happy face I can tell when she's skipping over something because she doesn't want me to feel bad. If I'd just been here to help them… if I had, Steven wouldn't have been born, and Pearl made it very clear that she wouldn't want that. She sighed, hanging her head as Pearl paused in the middle of her story of playing a game of baseball against a squad of Rubies.
"Rose, are you…"
"I'm fine Pearl."
"You don't seem fine."
"I…" Rose lifted her head to meet Pearls gaze and was reminded of a human legend about eyes being the windows to the soul. It's like she's politely asking to be let in while getting the battering ram ready if I say no.
"It's not something you can help with Pearl, just the same old regrets I've been having for a long time."
Pearl nodded. "I understand. It gets easier, with time, and if you ever need to talk to somebody you know you can always talk to me."
"Thank you Pearl." Rose responded with a nod. "Now, you were in the middle of a story?"
"Yes I was! Now let's see, where was I…? Oh yes, the final inning, we needed one more run to win, and Steven had to tell Sapphire to stop flirting with Ruby after she missed the first two pitches, and then Sapphire finally managed to hit it and ran around the bases… right into Rubies arms, and they formed Garnet instantly. At that point our cover was blown, and we all got ready for a fight, but the Rubies were apparently just there to find Jasper, and Steven told them she was on Neptune and they believed it!"
Rose let out a small chuckle at that. "And then what? I noticed their ship parked up at the barn, at least I'm assuming that Roaming Eye was theirs. What happened then?"
Pearl got distinctly uncomfortable at that question. "Well, after they searched the rest of the solar system they came back looking for Jasper, but Jasper… wasn't around, so Amethyst came up with the idea of pretending to be Jasper and saying she couldn't leave and they should go back to Homeworld." She shifted her weight from foot to foot as she avoided Rose's eyes. "Well, anyways we ended up in the moonbase and Steven… Steven heard the official story of what happened to Pink Diamond."
Rose nodded, comprehension dawning in her mind. "The murals, one of the Rubies recognizes it?"
"Yes."
"And their ship?"
"They found us out and we knocked them into space and stole their ship."
Rose blinked in surprise. "Are… are they still out there?"
"Yes." Pearl said guiltily. "We just, left them there. You should probably pick them up on your way out."
"Yes" Rose nodded. "I should."
"..."
"Pearl?"
"Yes?"
"After everything I've done, and everything I didn't do, is it even possible for me to make up for it all? Everything that Steven went through with Homeworld gems is my fault, and then there's all the gems that were made weaker because of the resource shortages, and all the gems that were shattered to form The Cluster…"
Pearl grabbed her shoulder. "Yes."
"How can you just say that? After everything I did!"
"Because you regret it. If you did all of those things and didn't regret it, because you had convinced yourself they 'had to be done' or some other ridiculous justification like Blue and Yellow make, then I would say you can't make up for your actions. But as long as you understand why it was wrong, you'll be able to try and make things right. You might not be able to change the past, but you can change your future."
Rose looked over at Pearl in surprise. "That's… that's pretty thoughtful Pearl."
"Yes, well, I have been thinking about this for a while. Although I can't take all of the credit on that, Greg helped a little."
Not only did Pearl get help from Greg, but she also admitted to it? Will wonders never cease? Rose thought with a smile on her face.
"Speaking of Greg, I think there's something we need to discuss Rose."
And like that, the moment is gone. "Alright."
"I had Steven show me how to use a human communications device yesterday, I'll call Greg and when he gets here… the three of us will need to discuss our future."
A wave of emotions crashed through Rose's mind. Hope, from the way the two had seemingly become friends since her departure, and fear, fear that one or both of them would leave her. But none of that showed on her face as she silently nodded.
-----
Pearl spent the time waiting for Greg to arrive with another silly story about Steven, but neither of their hearts were truly in it, and when his van pulled up the two gems simply let the story die off.
Soon enough, the three were sitting in a circle, Greg in the back of the van, Pearl on a stump, and Rose on the ground.
"So… how are we starting this?" Greg asked.
"Well, I think we all understand what the situation was when Rose… left, correct?"
A pair of affirmatives answered Pearls question.
"Good! In that case, all we need to discuss is how we intend to move forward! Now, me and Greg had a discussion about this yesterday, and we came to a decision about how we want to move forward." She braced herself before continuing. "Based on our conversation yesterday, neither of us believe that jumping right back into things the way they were before is a good idea. That situation caused far to much discord between us, and as a result we need to try and figure out a different way to handle our feelings. Additionally, while I still have feelings for you, I feel that the amount of time we have been apart has changed both of us, and we need to get to know each other better before we can make a long-term decision on our relationship."
Greg nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I'm going to be honest Rose I'm not the man I used to be, and with how much you've changed…" He shook his head. " We shouldn't just jump back into this. I still love you, and I would be happy to spend some time getting to know you again, but with all of your responsibilities and how much we've both changed…" He trailed off, shrugging his shoulders as if to say what can you do?
Rose felt like she'd been punched. Well, she reflected, it could have been worse: they're still willing to give it a try, and I can't even say that they're wrong about how much we've all changed… She looked back and forth between the two of them before hanging her head and sighing.
"You're right, both of you." She told them, and in response they both let out a sigh of relief, which brought a small smile to Rose's lips. "I always knew you two would get along if you just took the time to get to know each other." She said quietly.
"Yeah, well, I didn't exactly give Pearl many reasons to want to spend time with me." Greg said.
"It's not all your fault, I should have brought my issues up with Rose instead of taking them out on you.
"Yeah well, I should have taken a hint."
"Probably" Pearl agreed with him, eliciting a small chuckle from him as Rose slowly wrapped her head around the idea of her two companions actually getting along.
Rose let out a small chuckle. "You two really have changed a lot, I can't even imagine the two of you being so relaxed around each other back before I…" She trailed off, wincing in regret.
"Yeah, it wasn't all good times and rainbows, but we managed to work it out." Greg said. "Especially after the incident with my van that first winter…" he trailed off, giving Pearl a knowing look as she blushed.
"What incident?"
"Nothing!" Pearl shouted as Greg started to laugh. "It was nothing, we just… were having trouble adjusting to your absence and… had a misunderstanding of the situation with Steven. We figured it out though, and no harm no foul!"
"Easy for you to say, that dog was out for blood!"
"What dog!?!?!" Rose asked.
"Don't worry about the dog Rose, it didn't catch me."
"Why was a dog chasing you!?!?"
"Because we took Steven and the van."
"What?! Why?!" Rose was getting more confused by the second even as Pearl and Greg shared a knowing look.
"Well, it all started with my crashing at Vidallia's place one day…"
"Alright well I think I have taken up enough of Rose's time for the day I'll just head back to town to get some chores done have fun you to bye!" Pearl said, fast-walking out of the clearing towards town as Greg smirked.
"Pearl wait! I'll drop the teasing if it bothers you that much…"
Pearl turned around "Thank you Greg, but I really have taken up to much of Rose's time today, you should spend some time with her as well." She said before turning to leave once again.
"I'm not sure I want to know anymore…" Rose said as she watched Pearl leave.
"Well, what do you want to talk about?"
Rose turned to him, a serious look on her face as she tried to focus. "I just… you're sure you two aren't going to go back to fighting once I figure out how to spend more time here? I really enjoyed seeing you two getting along."
"Well yeah, me and Pearl might have our differences, and sometimes we get into fights, but at the end of the day we're friends now."
"Just friends?" Rose asked, and as she saw Greg's face she realized that she should have kept her fantasies in her own head.
"Yes Rose. If I'm going to be honest there's basically no chance of anything else happening: Pearl and me are both attracted to… well… to women like you, and neither of us are women like you. Plus at this point it would just be all sorts of awkward even if we did work past that. So yes, we are just friends."
Rose nodded, a blush on her cheeks. "I… sorry, that was a little inappropriate of me. I just want the two of you to be happy."
"I know Rose." He replied. "But I am happy like this. I've gotten more out of my life than any other dumb kid who dropped out of community college to become a rock star ever has: a wonderful relationship with a beautiful woman, an amazing kid, and a ten million dollar royalties check! I might not have a few thousand years to enjoy what I've got like you do, but I've honestly got a better life than most humans."
Rose flinched at the mention of his mortality, the constant fear that had been in the back of her mind ever since she'd seen just how much he'd aged physically since she'd seen him last. "What if you did?" She whispered.
"Hmmm?"
"What if you did have thousands of years?"
"Rose, I'm a human, we don't…"
"Just humor me Greg, please."
Greg gave her a strange look before shrugging. "Would I get to be young again to? Because I'm going to be honest, I'm starting to get aches and pains that I would rather not deal with for eternity." At Rose's nod, he got a thoughtful look in his eyes. "Well… if I'm being honest, once Steven moves off to college I might call up some old friends and see if they can get me a gig or something, take advantage of the younger body and years of experience. Other than that, maybe go to college myself?" He shrugged. "Why are you asking?"
Rose hesitated for a moment before responding. No more secrets, not for him, or Pearl, or the others. "Because I'm looking into seeing if I can make it happen." At Greg's look of confusion, she elaborated: "Steven is likely going to live much longer than a human because he's a hybrid, and since I have a court full of researchers I was thinking maybe I could transfer some resources to research how hybrids work and maybe if an already-born human can become one."
Greg stared at her for a minute before a smile appeared on his face. "Well, that's one way to take advantage of a bad situation."
"Yes well, what good is having power if I can't help the people I care about?"
"Pretty sure that counts as abuse of power… but then again from what Pearl's told me compared to the other Diamonds that's downright tame." Greg said with a laugh before getting contemplative for a moment. "Hey Rose, could you… not tell Steven about this? Just until we know if it'll work? I don't want to get his hopes up, I don't really know how he's going to react and I don't want to hurt him if it doesn't work." Greg frowned. "Honestly I don't know how I'm going to react if it does work."
Rose was confused. "What do you mean?"
"Nothing, just an old man musing about life and death, it'll be fine. But seriously, I don't want Steven to get his hopes up for this until we know it'll work."
"... Alright."
-----
Rose had spent another hour talking about less serious topics with Greg: how he had been, what Steven was up to, what new stories he'd been reading, until they had been interrupted by the growl of Greg's stomach. Telling Greg to go get dinner by himself, she found herself alone in the clearing. With a sigh and a flash of light, Pink Diamond stood where Rose had been. Walking back to her ship, she felt her true self hide away as the weight of being a Diamond once again settled on her shoulders. One more trip down to the planet as Rose, and then I have to go back to this all the time again. She thought as she walked through the corridors, the gems of her court throwing salutes as she passed by.
Her musings were interrupted by a report that flashed on her screen:
Courier ship from Homeworld arrived in system two hours ago. Contained an urgent request for Pink Diamond to contact the rest of the authority and included a spare Diamond Communicator as cargo.
Per your orders we commanded them to hold orbit while you conducted your business down on the planet.
A heavy weight settled in her stomach as she read the words, and as she gave permission for the courier ship to dock with her own she braced herself for the conversation to come.
-----
Authors Notes:
For todays chapter I tried a new writing method: in the past I wrote until i felt like stopping, and then just went to do something else, while this time when I felt like stopping I switched to another fic I've been bouncing around in my head. This method let me get todays chapter finished a day earlier than normal, so I think I'll be sticking with it.
As always, let me know what you think of this chapter, and thanks for reading.
- Location
- United States
Something tells me that we're going to hear lots of the word "starlight" in the next chapter. Time for a talk with a condescending diamond?
While in canon, I think, Pearl probably didn't date mystery girl and, if the bunch of phone numbers she has are anything to go by, she has been hinted to be a player; now I kinda want to see Rose's reaction if Pearl started dating her and they meet.
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Meetings 8.4
Chapter 8: Meetings
Part 4
Pink Diamond braced herself as she prepared to call the other Diamonds. They had gone through the trouble of sending a courier with a Diamond communicator and "requesting" that she call them as soon as possible, and the lack of any other information had let her mind run wild.
Do they know? How could they know? No ships have left Earth since I arrived, and the communication devices on the ship can't even make it to my colony, the only way they could have gotten word after I told the truth would be if… if someone in my court had a portable communication device with the range to reach Homeworld… but would Blue and Yellow even trust a common gem with something like that? Sending someone to spy on another Diamond would go against everything they preach, the perfection of the Diamonds, how we are "united in our rule of all gems" and all that other stuff.
Pushing those thoughts out of her head, she activated the Diamond communicator. "Hello Blue, hello Yellow." Pink greeted her fellow Diamonds, clenching her teeth as she did her best to avoid giving off any sign that something was wrong. "What is the big emergency that you needed to go through all this trouble to speak to me about?"
"Well Pink," Yellow spoke up "when you returned we had every gem producing world halt production until we could get the creation fluid mixture up to proper levels of all of our essences. Three days ago, right after you called me to ask about Earth, we had only managed to stockpile enough to begin production in a few colonies. We were expecting regular shipments from you to address this shortfall, and yet not only did the last shipment arrive half-empty, according to the administrators at your colony the next one hasn't even been started! It's not like you're even using it for anything, you don't even have any proper kindergartens set up!"
"Yellow, be calm, we agreed to give her a chance to explain…"
"She wants to be treated like a Diamond, I'm treating her like a Diamond. She's caused empire-wide production delays.."
"Of a few days Yellow!"
"It always starts at a few days Blue! Every mess you ever dropped on me started as 'just a few days' behind schedule!"
Pink blinked, her tension and fear that the other Diamonds had discovered her secret dissipating as she searched for words. Did they seriously just call me because of this? "I… I had business to attend to on Earth. It's nearly complete now, one or two below-maximum shipments won't spell the end of the empire Yellow."
Yellow spluttered in indignation. "Pink, you can't just treat your duties like this! You wanted to be treated like an equal so I am…"
"Oh right, because if Blue missed a couple shipments you would call her and start yelling?" Pink asked in disbelief. After everything about me actually being a Diamond just like them, and it's not even a year before they push back and start treating me like a child again! She raged, and before she could continue or Yellow could respond Blue chimed in.
"Pink, we aren't angry at you, Yellow has just been under a lot of stress lately and…"
"And who's fault is that?! You were bad enough when you were mourning but now it's been months and you still haven't fully taken control of your duties, and now Pink is following in your footsteps!"
Pink got the distinct impression that this call was less about her and more about the mass of neurosis and stress that called itself Yellow Diamond. "I am not abandoning my duties Yellow! I am cleaning up one of your messes, something I wouldn't have to do if you hadn't decided making a Geoweapon in the Earth's crust was a good idea!"
"Pink, both of us agreed to The Cluster plan…"
"Oh, so both of you made a mistake, that's so much better! If your plan had worked, the Earth and all of its resources would have been lost, and then what would have happened you clods?" That probably wasn't the best idea, but they deserve this.
Yellow seemed offended at her word choice. "You watched the video recording of that impertinent Peridot…"
"Yes, and I agreed with her." Pink confirmed. "Maybe if you weren't so stuck in your ways you would have to!" I don't care that this is a bad idea, it needs to be said.
"Yellow, Pink, enough." Blue's voice cut off the fight before it could escalate. "Yellow, Earth is Pinks world, and she may do with it as she wishes. Pink, do not insult Yellow, we are all Diamonds and we must in the end work together to show the rest of the empire a united front and avoid a descent into anarchy. Now, are both of you done?"
Pink was furious. After Yellow wasted my time, and scared me like that, she has the gall to act like this is my fault? "Maybe in the future you could keep Yellow from wasting both our times with things like this Blue, bit hard to present a 'united front' when I'm constantly waiting for one of you to jump up and start demanding that I change something." She yelled back.
"She was truly worried and…"
"And you thought just going along with it was easier than standing up to her, because you only can stand up to a gem that's weaker than you, like me! As soon as Yellow or White tells you to do something you do it!"
"This isn't about her Pink, this is about your refusal to take your duties seriously."
"No, this is about you two refusing to treat me like a Diamond!"
"Pink, just calm down."
"I was perfectly calm before I got your message and panicked while I wondered what actual, empire affecting emergency could have caused you to send a courier to get in contact with me!" Pink yelled.
As the sounds of three Diamonds arguing slipped out into the halls, the Rose Quartzes of Pink Diamonds personal guard did their best to keep the other gems of her court far enough away that they couldn't hear the Diamond Authority stabbing each other with word-shivs, but they themselves heard just about everything, and none of them were looking forward to the aftermath of this fight.
Meanwhile, as Pink got drawn deeper into the argument with the two elder Diamonds, a single unrelated thought entered her mind. This is why the Diamond Authority needs to fall. None of us should be trusted with any power.
-----
"Alright, there's my house!" Connie cried from her perch with Steven on Lapis's back. At first she'd been uncomfortable about the idea of having Lapis carry both their weights, but after Lapis demonstrated it wasn't a problem by grabbing them both and lifting them up with ease, she had been more than happy to get home after tennis practice by flight instead of foot.
Although I'm probably going to get a lot of questions from the rest of the tennis team about why a blue lady carried me away after practice… she silenced the annoying thought as Lapis gracefully landed in front of her house, letting her and Steven climb off. "That was so cool Lapis! I've never flown like that before, only on an airplane!" Connie gushed as she opened the door.
"What's this about flying?" Connie winced at her mother's voice.
"Mom! You're home early…" She muttered out in response. "One of the gems gave me a ride home, and she can fly so she took me and Steven on a bit of a joyride." As embarrassing as it was, after their talk in the hospital Connie had promised her mom that she would be honest about things like this, and in return her mother had promised to give her the space she needed to live her life.
"Yes well, I had to cover Dr. Freemans shift last night so he covered my shift today" At the moment, she could tell that her mom was trying to keep her protective instincts in line. "Are you saying that she carried you two while flying?"
"Yes I did" Lapis spoke up, getting a panicked look from Connie as she heard her mother stand up and walk towards the door.
"Hi Doctor Maheswaran!" Steven waved. "This is Lapis, I don't think you two have met before, but Lapis has been around for a while, she just doesn't really come out to talk with people that much."
"Hello Steven, and it's nice to meet you Lapis." Priyanka greeted the two. "I hope this trip wasn't dangerous?"
"Nah, it was fine" Lapis shrugged noncommittally. "I've lifted a lot more weight before, compared to massive chunks of rock those two were pretty light."
Connie could tell her mom was trying to figure out how the slight blue woman in front of her could possibly lift boulders, but she did her best to move on. "Well, as long as they weren't in any danger, that sounds perfectly fine." Lapis just shrugged in response, obviously uncaring about gaining Priyanka's approval to fly her daughter around. Instead of pushing it, Priyanka simply turned to Steven with a look of concern. "So Steven, how have you been holding up? I understand that the last few days have been a bit… difficult for you."
Steven gave her a small smile. "I mean… it hasn't been the greatest, but it's nice to actually get to talk to my mom for once,. Ever since last summer I've been hearing all these things about her that didn't fit with all the stories everyone told me, and now I can actually ask her!"
Priyanka nodded slowly at his response. "Alright, just… if you ever want to spend the night over here with Connie, we'll keep the couch open. Also, after what happened when your mother first arrived I would appreciate it if you gave me your father's phone number… just in case."
"Oh, yeah, ok" Steven said "do you want Pearls number too? If gem stuff is happening she might know more than my dad."
"Yes, that would be nice."
Meanwhile, Connie felt Lapis stand near her. "So this is what a 'Mom' is like?"
"Uhhhh, yeah, I guess?" Connie responded, looking up at Lapis.
"Huh… weird. She's not acting like the parents on Camp Pining Hearts."
Connie just took a moment to stare up at Lapis, her mind going blank at what she had just heard. "Are… are you just using that one TV show to teach you about humans?"
"I also talk to Steven." Came the bored reply.
"Errrr, right…" Connie felt like she should do something about that, but she didn't know enough about Lapis to say something. I should probably talk to Steven about her, he'll know what to do.
"Hey Connie, I've got to go home for dinner, but I'll see you on Saturday for training!" Steven said, walking up to Lapis who lifted him up and flew away before she could say anything. Connie felt her mother's eyes on her as she watched the pair fly off into the setting sun.
"So, is she the one who…"
"Yes she's the one who did the ocean thing."
"Ah."
-----
"Hi Pearl, I'm here!" Steven ran into the house. "Lapis is here too!"
"Actually I'm going to head back to the barn." He heard as Lapis took off.
"Oh, ok." I wonder what's wrong with her? I should visit the barn more. Steven waved as Lapis left before turning back to Pearl. "She's not staying for dinner."
"I heard." Pearl said, placing a plate loaded with all the "healthy" foods she'd been trying to get him to eat ever since she'd started discussing nutrition with Connie's mom. However, unlike most nights, when he began to eat she stayed near him, drumming her fingers on her knee as she stared off into space.
"Pearl, are you ok?"
"Hmmm? Oh, yes. I just… needed to think over my words for a moment." She sighed, turning to Steven with a contemplative look. "Steven, you know that me and Greg both love you, right? Neither of us would trade you for anything."
"I know Pearl." He reached out, holding her hand as she struggled with her words.
"It's just… with your mother back, I don't want you to get the wrong idea. Yes, we're happy she's back, but we don't regret that she had you in the first place, and I just, I just need you to know that."
Steven leaned in and wrapped his arms around Pearls slim frame. "I know Pearl."
She wrapped her own arms around him, and he felt droplets fall onto his head. "Good." She whispered, and for a few moments the two sat together, embracing each other, before Pearl gently extracted herself. "But there is one more thing I need to say." She braced herself, squeezing his shoulder in reassurement. "Steven, your father and I have had a… complicated, relationship, both with each other and your mother, and with her having to live a double life while we are trapped on Earth, we have decided to take some time to get to know each other again and, well, adjust to this whole situation."
"Ok Pearl." He whispered, and she gave him a soft smile as he went back to eating.
After Steven finished his dinner, and they performed their normal ritual of him moving to clean up after himself and Pearl gently pushing him aside and doing most of the work herself, he got ready for bed. Laying in bed, he put on one of his favorite Lonely Blade movies, but as he watched his mind wandered.
Everyone's handling all of this without me… ever since mom came back, it's like things stopped happening to me and started happening around me. I should be happy about that, no more surprise messes mom made coming for me, actual answers for what happened back then, and getting to actually talk to mom! It's great but it's just… so weird. Turning back to his movie, he tried to put his worries out of his mind. I'll get used to it eventually, and no one wants to hear me complain right now.
-----
Pink Diamond had had enough. After literal hours of yelling with Blue and Yellow she was sorely tempted to simply start another rebellion, but thankfully things had not yet gotten that bad… at least until Blue tried to change the subject and asked her how her trip to Earth had gone.
"Rose Quartz did what?" Yellow asked, her eyes wide in shock.
"She gave up her gem to make a human-gem hybrid. I'm studying it." Pink answered, glaring at Yellow as if daring her to object.
"... Fine. Study the organics, let all the traitors live. Just don't come running to me when another rebellion starts." Yellow said, disgust obvious on her face as she ended the call.
"Pink…" Blue spoke up only to be cut off.
"I don't want to hear it Blue! I've made my decision, and if you want to undo it you'll have to come here and make me, because I am done following your orders."
The other Diamond leaned back from the screen in shock. "Pink, think for a moment, you're leaving a band of Rose Quartzes to monitor a band of traitors to Homeworld with access to The Cluster!"
"Those 'traitors' are a Peridot who agrees with me on organic life, a Lapis Lazuli who hasn't actually committed any crimes, an Amethyst who came out too late to be given any orders, and a Pearl who obeyed the orders of a high-ranking Quartz. None of them deserve shattering, and that is my decision to make. So I repeat, unless you want to fight me over this I have made my decision for how Earth will be run, and I will not be changing it." And as long as I have anything to say about it, that is the entire list of Crystal Gems Homeworld will have. She would have to do something about the recording from Peridot that showed Garnet, but with any luck neither of the other Diamonds had ever actually taken the time to watch that video.
Blue stared at her for a few more moments before sighing and shaking her head. "Fine Pink, just… just don't make a habit out of this? The empire needs stability and order with all the changes from your return, and if these rebels are allowed to spread their poisonous beliefs…"
"Don't worry Blue, I already planned for that." Pink said, smiling internally. She doesn't need to know that I think that would be a good thing. "Just trust me, I know what I'm doing."
With a resigned look, Blue nodded. "Very well Pink. If there is nothing else, I have work to do." With that, she hung up, and Pink leaned back in her chair. That could have gone better. She thought as she stared at the empty communicator. Pressing a button on the side of her throne, after a moment, the door opened, and the commander of her personal guard slipped inside.
"My Diamond, you summoned me?" Sway asked, the Pink Lace agate maintaining a formal attitude as she held her salute.
"Yes, I did." Pink stood up. "We need to talk. Specifically, I want to know what you think about the truth." Because at this point I've gone through this with just about everyone else, so I might as well just get this over with now.
Sway stared at her, frozen in place for several moments before she finally replied. "My Diamond, your dispute with the other Diamonds is not my business, and neither is your attempt to fulfill your programming by defending the organic life of Earth."
Pink blinked in surprise for a few moments. Ah. We're doing this now. "Sway, I didn't do what I did to fulfill my programming, I did it because I couldn't just abandon the Earth to die…"
"Because you were programmed to work with organic life. Why else would your powers work so well with organics?" She said, using arguments that made Pink feel a sense of despair at how long it would take to undo Homeworld's brainwashing.
"Sway, even if I was influenced by my programming, you've worked with quartzes long enough to know that the programming they give us when we form isn't all powerful, especially in older gems."
"My Diamond, with all due respect considering the time periods involved you were younger when you made the decision to become Rose Quartz than most of my Quartzes were when you were 'shattered'."
Pink frowned at that blatant untruth. "What are you talking about? I was thousands of years old when I started the colony on Earth."
Sway froze, her eyes locked on Pink as she tried to understand what she had just heard. "What?"
"I mean, I understand how the way I acted at the time could give the impression that I was…" a child that somehow had command over an entire planet "... less than experienced, but I could have sworn that… although I never did tell anyone the truth and Blue and Yellow wouldn't be all that interested in…"
"You…" Sway was staring at her, tears flowing down her face. "I thought… if you were just a new Diamond obeying your programming and messing up then it would be fine, but you weren't! You were as old as I am now, and you just… you left us! You left me!" Her mask cracked as she began to yell. "Everything I did was for you! When you came back I was happier than I had ever been before, and then you tell me all of this, and everything you say makes it harder and harder to like you, but there's this voice inside me telling me that I must and I…" she trailed off, fists clenched as she seethed in silence and Pink leaned forward.
"I'm sorry."
Sway leaned back, avoiding her gaze. "Do you have any idea what it's like? To look at someone and love them, even if you know they don't care about you?" She asked, her voice barely over a whisper. "To constantly excuse everything they do wrong, even if you know you shouldn't?"
Pink closed her eyes, her hands shaking as she shook her head. "No."
She heard a soft snort. "I didn't think so."
The next thing she knew, Sway had her hand on Pinks arm. Looking up, Pink watched as the Agate marveled at the feeling of her Diamond under her fingers. "You wouldn't…" she murmured, and for a moment the two Pink gems stood together in silence, before Sway let out a sigh. "Ever since I saw you had returned, I wanted to be near you every moment, to show you how loyal and devoted I was, like I was fresh out of the ground and eager to please all over again… and then when you told us the truth, that feeling got smaller, but even right now I can still feel it inside me, pushing me to forgive you and tell you I'm not angry for what you did…" she was shaking, her fingers digging into Pink's form as she spoke. "... and I hate it. I want to be angry, I should be angry. You betrayed Homeworld, the empire, everyone I ever cared about. I don't want to just forgive you and move on but everytime you talk you're just so understanding and apologetic and the feeling comes back and…"
Pink interrupted her by gently placing her hand on Sway's, slowly pulling her Agate's hand off her arm. "Then don't. Those feelings, that's thousands of years of being told how to act, some of it from before you even came out of the ground, and once you control it, you can do amazing things." She said, a smile on her face at the memory of Pearl and her transformation from pretty wallflower to a deadly swordswoman.
Sway on the other hand was not so easily swayed [1]. "So you want me to be angry at you? Why? How does me being angry at you instead of an obedient little gem who does whatever her Diamond commands benefit you?"
Pink shook her head. "It's not about benefits, it's about what's right, and in your case, that means fighting past everything Homeworld told you about loving the Diamonds and making your own decision on how to feel about me." Pink's mood shifted, her eyes clouding as she stared off into space, memories of all her failures slamming into her. "Besides, I understand wanting to hate me. If I'm being honest, there are times when I look back, when I have no choice but to face down every mistake I've ever made, and I hate myself more than anyone else ever can."
With that, she gave Sway a soft smile and walked towards the door. "I think I have some work to do. If you ever want to talk, you know where to find me." She said, and as she walked out the door the last thing she saw was the commander of her personal guard with a contemplative look on her face.
-----
Authors Notes:
[1] Yes this pun is out of place in a serious scene. No I am not sorry.
I know the Diamond conversation might not have gone the way many people wanted, but I'm trying to get across that the other Diamonds are allowing Pink an unprecedented degree of freedom for now as a result of her return, after all Blue and Yellow were still eating out of Steven's hand years after they met him in canon, and it's been less than a year for Pink, so she's still riding off of the "she's alive, cut her some slack" high. Of course, if she causes many more problems with production Yellow will be upset, and if she moves to quickly to upend the culture of the empire Blue might stop being so forgiving, and she'll probably never be as friendly for them as Steven is in canon, but compared to what we know of Pink's relationship with them in canon, this is a massive improvement.
Anyways, at 9.5 pages this is the longest of the "Meetings" arc by around a page and a half, and I actually submitted it just before midnight in my timezone, so I'm calling it a day early. Next week "Departures" sees Pink leave to return to her colony, and I get to try writing side-by-side narratives that don't really interact (Pink and Steven). In light of this, I have a question for you, my readers: Should I intermix Pink and Steven plots like in this chapter, or have them be separate chapters? Let me know, and if you have anything else to say about this chapter, say it! I love feedback!
Part 4
Pink Diamond braced herself as she prepared to call the other Diamonds. They had gone through the trouble of sending a courier with a Diamond communicator and "requesting" that she call them as soon as possible, and the lack of any other information had let her mind run wild.
Do they know? How could they know? No ships have left Earth since I arrived, and the communication devices on the ship can't even make it to my colony, the only way they could have gotten word after I told the truth would be if… if someone in my court had a portable communication device with the range to reach Homeworld… but would Blue and Yellow even trust a common gem with something like that? Sending someone to spy on another Diamond would go against everything they preach, the perfection of the Diamonds, how we are "united in our rule of all gems" and all that other stuff.
Pushing those thoughts out of her head, she activated the Diamond communicator. "Hello Blue, hello Yellow." Pink greeted her fellow Diamonds, clenching her teeth as she did her best to avoid giving off any sign that something was wrong. "What is the big emergency that you needed to go through all this trouble to speak to me about?"
"Well Pink," Yellow spoke up "when you returned we had every gem producing world halt production until we could get the creation fluid mixture up to proper levels of all of our essences. Three days ago, right after you called me to ask about Earth, we had only managed to stockpile enough to begin production in a few colonies. We were expecting regular shipments from you to address this shortfall, and yet not only did the last shipment arrive half-empty, according to the administrators at your colony the next one hasn't even been started! It's not like you're even using it for anything, you don't even have any proper kindergartens set up!"
"Yellow, be calm, we agreed to give her a chance to explain…"
"She wants to be treated like a Diamond, I'm treating her like a Diamond. She's caused empire-wide production delays.."
"Of a few days Yellow!"
"It always starts at a few days Blue! Every mess you ever dropped on me started as 'just a few days' behind schedule!"
Pink blinked, her tension and fear that the other Diamonds had discovered her secret dissipating as she searched for words. Did they seriously just call me because of this? "I… I had business to attend to on Earth. It's nearly complete now, one or two below-maximum shipments won't spell the end of the empire Yellow."
Yellow spluttered in indignation. "Pink, you can't just treat your duties like this! You wanted to be treated like an equal so I am…"
"Oh right, because if Blue missed a couple shipments you would call her and start yelling?" Pink asked in disbelief. After everything about me actually being a Diamond just like them, and it's not even a year before they push back and start treating me like a child again! She raged, and before she could continue or Yellow could respond Blue chimed in.
"Pink, we aren't angry at you, Yellow has just been under a lot of stress lately and…"
"And who's fault is that?! You were bad enough when you were mourning but now it's been months and you still haven't fully taken control of your duties, and now Pink is following in your footsteps!"
Pink got the distinct impression that this call was less about her and more about the mass of neurosis and stress that called itself Yellow Diamond. "I am not abandoning my duties Yellow! I am cleaning up one of your messes, something I wouldn't have to do if you hadn't decided making a Geoweapon in the Earth's crust was a good idea!"
"Pink, both of us agreed to The Cluster plan…"
"Oh, so both of you made a mistake, that's so much better! If your plan had worked, the Earth and all of its resources would have been lost, and then what would have happened you clods?" That probably wasn't the best idea, but they deserve this.
Yellow seemed offended at her word choice. "You watched the video recording of that impertinent Peridot…"
"Yes, and I agreed with her." Pink confirmed. "Maybe if you weren't so stuck in your ways you would have to!" I don't care that this is a bad idea, it needs to be said.
"Yellow, Pink, enough." Blue's voice cut off the fight before it could escalate. "Yellow, Earth is Pinks world, and she may do with it as she wishes. Pink, do not insult Yellow, we are all Diamonds and we must in the end work together to show the rest of the empire a united front and avoid a descent into anarchy. Now, are both of you done?"
Pink was furious. After Yellow wasted my time, and scared me like that, she has the gall to act like this is my fault? "Maybe in the future you could keep Yellow from wasting both our times with things like this Blue, bit hard to present a 'united front' when I'm constantly waiting for one of you to jump up and start demanding that I change something." She yelled back.
"She was truly worried and…"
"And you thought just going along with it was easier than standing up to her, because you only can stand up to a gem that's weaker than you, like me! As soon as Yellow or White tells you to do something you do it!"
"This isn't about her Pink, this is about your refusal to take your duties seriously."
"No, this is about you two refusing to treat me like a Diamond!"
"Pink, just calm down."
"I was perfectly calm before I got your message and panicked while I wondered what actual, empire affecting emergency could have caused you to send a courier to get in contact with me!" Pink yelled.
As the sounds of three Diamonds arguing slipped out into the halls, the Rose Quartzes of Pink Diamonds personal guard did their best to keep the other gems of her court far enough away that they couldn't hear the Diamond Authority stabbing each other with word-shivs, but they themselves heard just about everything, and none of them were looking forward to the aftermath of this fight.
Meanwhile, as Pink got drawn deeper into the argument with the two elder Diamonds, a single unrelated thought entered her mind. This is why the Diamond Authority needs to fall. None of us should be trusted with any power.
-----
"Alright, there's my house!" Connie cried from her perch with Steven on Lapis's back. At first she'd been uncomfortable about the idea of having Lapis carry both their weights, but after Lapis demonstrated it wasn't a problem by grabbing them both and lifting them up with ease, she had been more than happy to get home after tennis practice by flight instead of foot.
Although I'm probably going to get a lot of questions from the rest of the tennis team about why a blue lady carried me away after practice… she silenced the annoying thought as Lapis gracefully landed in front of her house, letting her and Steven climb off. "That was so cool Lapis! I've never flown like that before, only on an airplane!" Connie gushed as she opened the door.
"What's this about flying?" Connie winced at her mother's voice.
"Mom! You're home early…" She muttered out in response. "One of the gems gave me a ride home, and she can fly so she took me and Steven on a bit of a joyride." As embarrassing as it was, after their talk in the hospital Connie had promised her mom that she would be honest about things like this, and in return her mother had promised to give her the space she needed to live her life.
"Yes well, I had to cover Dr. Freemans shift last night so he covered my shift today" At the moment, she could tell that her mom was trying to keep her protective instincts in line. "Are you saying that she carried you two while flying?"
"Yes I did" Lapis spoke up, getting a panicked look from Connie as she heard her mother stand up and walk towards the door.
"Hi Doctor Maheswaran!" Steven waved. "This is Lapis, I don't think you two have met before, but Lapis has been around for a while, she just doesn't really come out to talk with people that much."
"Hello Steven, and it's nice to meet you Lapis." Priyanka greeted the two. "I hope this trip wasn't dangerous?"
"Nah, it was fine" Lapis shrugged noncommittally. "I've lifted a lot more weight before, compared to massive chunks of rock those two were pretty light."
Connie could tell her mom was trying to figure out how the slight blue woman in front of her could possibly lift boulders, but she did her best to move on. "Well, as long as they weren't in any danger, that sounds perfectly fine." Lapis just shrugged in response, obviously uncaring about gaining Priyanka's approval to fly her daughter around. Instead of pushing it, Priyanka simply turned to Steven with a look of concern. "So Steven, how have you been holding up? I understand that the last few days have been a bit… difficult for you."
Steven gave her a small smile. "I mean… it hasn't been the greatest, but it's nice to actually get to talk to my mom for once,. Ever since last summer I've been hearing all these things about her that didn't fit with all the stories everyone told me, and now I can actually ask her!"
Priyanka nodded slowly at his response. "Alright, just… if you ever want to spend the night over here with Connie, we'll keep the couch open. Also, after what happened when your mother first arrived I would appreciate it if you gave me your father's phone number… just in case."
"Oh, yeah, ok" Steven said "do you want Pearls number too? If gem stuff is happening she might know more than my dad."
"Yes, that would be nice."
Meanwhile, Connie felt Lapis stand near her. "So this is what a 'Mom' is like?"
"Uhhhh, yeah, I guess?" Connie responded, looking up at Lapis.
"Huh… weird. She's not acting like the parents on Camp Pining Hearts."
Connie just took a moment to stare up at Lapis, her mind going blank at what she had just heard. "Are… are you just using that one TV show to teach you about humans?"
"I also talk to Steven." Came the bored reply.
"Errrr, right…" Connie felt like she should do something about that, but she didn't know enough about Lapis to say something. I should probably talk to Steven about her, he'll know what to do.
"Hey Connie, I've got to go home for dinner, but I'll see you on Saturday for training!" Steven said, walking up to Lapis who lifted him up and flew away before she could say anything. Connie felt her mother's eyes on her as she watched the pair fly off into the setting sun.
"So, is she the one who…"
"Yes she's the one who did the ocean thing."
"Ah."
-----
"Hi Pearl, I'm here!" Steven ran into the house. "Lapis is here too!"
"Actually I'm going to head back to the barn." He heard as Lapis took off.
"Oh, ok." I wonder what's wrong with her? I should visit the barn more. Steven waved as Lapis left before turning back to Pearl. "She's not staying for dinner."
"I heard." Pearl said, placing a plate loaded with all the "healthy" foods she'd been trying to get him to eat ever since she'd started discussing nutrition with Connie's mom. However, unlike most nights, when he began to eat she stayed near him, drumming her fingers on her knee as she stared off into space.
"Pearl, are you ok?"
"Hmmm? Oh, yes. I just… needed to think over my words for a moment." She sighed, turning to Steven with a contemplative look. "Steven, you know that me and Greg both love you, right? Neither of us would trade you for anything."
"I know Pearl." He reached out, holding her hand as she struggled with her words.
"It's just… with your mother back, I don't want you to get the wrong idea. Yes, we're happy she's back, but we don't regret that she had you in the first place, and I just, I just need you to know that."
Steven leaned in and wrapped his arms around Pearls slim frame. "I know Pearl."
She wrapped her own arms around him, and he felt droplets fall onto his head. "Good." She whispered, and for a few moments the two sat together, embracing each other, before Pearl gently extracted herself. "But there is one more thing I need to say." She braced herself, squeezing his shoulder in reassurement. "Steven, your father and I have had a… complicated, relationship, both with each other and your mother, and with her having to live a double life while we are trapped on Earth, we have decided to take some time to get to know each other again and, well, adjust to this whole situation."
"Ok Pearl." He whispered, and she gave him a soft smile as he went back to eating.
After Steven finished his dinner, and they performed their normal ritual of him moving to clean up after himself and Pearl gently pushing him aside and doing most of the work herself, he got ready for bed. Laying in bed, he put on one of his favorite Lonely Blade movies, but as he watched his mind wandered.
Everyone's handling all of this without me… ever since mom came back, it's like things stopped happening to me and started happening around me. I should be happy about that, no more surprise messes mom made coming for me, actual answers for what happened back then, and getting to actually talk to mom! It's great but it's just… so weird. Turning back to his movie, he tried to put his worries out of his mind. I'll get used to it eventually, and no one wants to hear me complain right now.
-----
Pink Diamond had had enough. After literal hours of yelling with Blue and Yellow she was sorely tempted to simply start another rebellion, but thankfully things had not yet gotten that bad… at least until Blue tried to change the subject and asked her how her trip to Earth had gone.
"Rose Quartz did what?" Yellow asked, her eyes wide in shock.
"She gave up her gem to make a human-gem hybrid. I'm studying it." Pink answered, glaring at Yellow as if daring her to object.
"... Fine. Study the organics, let all the traitors live. Just don't come running to me when another rebellion starts." Yellow said, disgust obvious on her face as she ended the call.
"Pink…" Blue spoke up only to be cut off.
"I don't want to hear it Blue! I've made my decision, and if you want to undo it you'll have to come here and make me, because I am done following your orders."
The other Diamond leaned back from the screen in shock. "Pink, think for a moment, you're leaving a band of Rose Quartzes to monitor a band of traitors to Homeworld with access to The Cluster!"
"Those 'traitors' are a Peridot who agrees with me on organic life, a Lapis Lazuli who hasn't actually committed any crimes, an Amethyst who came out too late to be given any orders, and a Pearl who obeyed the orders of a high-ranking Quartz. None of them deserve shattering, and that is my decision to make. So I repeat, unless you want to fight me over this I have made my decision for how Earth will be run, and I will not be changing it." And as long as I have anything to say about it, that is the entire list of Crystal Gems Homeworld will have. She would have to do something about the recording from Peridot that showed Garnet, but with any luck neither of the other Diamonds had ever actually taken the time to watch that video.
Blue stared at her for a few more moments before sighing and shaking her head. "Fine Pink, just… just don't make a habit out of this? The empire needs stability and order with all the changes from your return, and if these rebels are allowed to spread their poisonous beliefs…"
"Don't worry Blue, I already planned for that." Pink said, smiling internally. She doesn't need to know that I think that would be a good thing. "Just trust me, I know what I'm doing."
With a resigned look, Blue nodded. "Very well Pink. If there is nothing else, I have work to do." With that, she hung up, and Pink leaned back in her chair. That could have gone better. She thought as she stared at the empty communicator. Pressing a button on the side of her throne, after a moment, the door opened, and the commander of her personal guard slipped inside.
"My Diamond, you summoned me?" Sway asked, the Pink Lace agate maintaining a formal attitude as she held her salute.
"Yes, I did." Pink stood up. "We need to talk. Specifically, I want to know what you think about the truth." Because at this point I've gone through this with just about everyone else, so I might as well just get this over with now.
Sway stared at her, frozen in place for several moments before she finally replied. "My Diamond, your dispute with the other Diamonds is not my business, and neither is your attempt to fulfill your programming by defending the organic life of Earth."
Pink blinked in surprise for a few moments. Ah. We're doing this now. "Sway, I didn't do what I did to fulfill my programming, I did it because I couldn't just abandon the Earth to die…"
"Because you were programmed to work with organic life. Why else would your powers work so well with organics?" She said, using arguments that made Pink feel a sense of despair at how long it would take to undo Homeworld's brainwashing.
"Sway, even if I was influenced by my programming, you've worked with quartzes long enough to know that the programming they give us when we form isn't all powerful, especially in older gems."
"My Diamond, with all due respect considering the time periods involved you were younger when you made the decision to become Rose Quartz than most of my Quartzes were when you were 'shattered'."
Pink frowned at that blatant untruth. "What are you talking about? I was thousands of years old when I started the colony on Earth."
Sway froze, her eyes locked on Pink as she tried to understand what she had just heard. "What?"
"I mean, I understand how the way I acted at the time could give the impression that I was…" a child that somehow had command over an entire planet "... less than experienced, but I could have sworn that… although I never did tell anyone the truth and Blue and Yellow wouldn't be all that interested in…"
"You…" Sway was staring at her, tears flowing down her face. "I thought… if you were just a new Diamond obeying your programming and messing up then it would be fine, but you weren't! You were as old as I am now, and you just… you left us! You left me!" Her mask cracked as she began to yell. "Everything I did was for you! When you came back I was happier than I had ever been before, and then you tell me all of this, and everything you say makes it harder and harder to like you, but there's this voice inside me telling me that I must and I…" she trailed off, fists clenched as she seethed in silence and Pink leaned forward.
"I'm sorry."
Sway leaned back, avoiding her gaze. "Do you have any idea what it's like? To look at someone and love them, even if you know they don't care about you?" She asked, her voice barely over a whisper. "To constantly excuse everything they do wrong, even if you know you shouldn't?"
Pink closed her eyes, her hands shaking as she shook her head. "No."
She heard a soft snort. "I didn't think so."
The next thing she knew, Sway had her hand on Pinks arm. Looking up, Pink watched as the Agate marveled at the feeling of her Diamond under her fingers. "You wouldn't…" she murmured, and for a moment the two Pink gems stood together in silence, before Sway let out a sigh. "Ever since I saw you had returned, I wanted to be near you every moment, to show you how loyal and devoted I was, like I was fresh out of the ground and eager to please all over again… and then when you told us the truth, that feeling got smaller, but even right now I can still feel it inside me, pushing me to forgive you and tell you I'm not angry for what you did…" she was shaking, her fingers digging into Pink's form as she spoke. "... and I hate it. I want to be angry, I should be angry. You betrayed Homeworld, the empire, everyone I ever cared about. I don't want to just forgive you and move on but everytime you talk you're just so understanding and apologetic and the feeling comes back and…"
Pink interrupted her by gently placing her hand on Sway's, slowly pulling her Agate's hand off her arm. "Then don't. Those feelings, that's thousands of years of being told how to act, some of it from before you even came out of the ground, and once you control it, you can do amazing things." She said, a smile on her face at the memory of Pearl and her transformation from pretty wallflower to a deadly swordswoman.
Sway on the other hand was not so easily swayed [1]. "So you want me to be angry at you? Why? How does me being angry at you instead of an obedient little gem who does whatever her Diamond commands benefit you?"
Pink shook her head. "It's not about benefits, it's about what's right, and in your case, that means fighting past everything Homeworld told you about loving the Diamonds and making your own decision on how to feel about me." Pink's mood shifted, her eyes clouding as she stared off into space, memories of all her failures slamming into her. "Besides, I understand wanting to hate me. If I'm being honest, there are times when I look back, when I have no choice but to face down every mistake I've ever made, and I hate myself more than anyone else ever can."
With that, she gave Sway a soft smile and walked towards the door. "I think I have some work to do. If you ever want to talk, you know where to find me." She said, and as she walked out the door the last thing she saw was the commander of her personal guard with a contemplative look on her face.
-----
Authors Notes:
[1] Yes this pun is out of place in a serious scene. No I am not sorry.
I know the Diamond conversation might not have gone the way many people wanted, but I'm trying to get across that the other Diamonds are allowing Pink an unprecedented degree of freedom for now as a result of her return, after all Blue and Yellow were still eating out of Steven's hand years after they met him in canon, and it's been less than a year for Pink, so she's still riding off of the "she's alive, cut her some slack" high. Of course, if she causes many more problems with production Yellow will be upset, and if she moves to quickly to upend the culture of the empire Blue might stop being so forgiving, and she'll probably never be as friendly for them as Steven is in canon, but compared to what we know of Pink's relationship with them in canon, this is a massive improvement.
Anyways, at 9.5 pages this is the longest of the "Meetings" arc by around a page and a half, and I actually submitted it just before midnight in my timezone, so I'm calling it a day early. Next week "Departures" sees Pink leave to return to her colony, and I get to try writing side-by-side narratives that don't really interact (Pink and Steven). In light of this, I have a question for you, my readers: Should I intermix Pink and Steven plots like in this chapter, or have them be separate chapters? Let me know, and if you have anything else to say about this chapter, say it! I love feedback!
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- Location
- UK
Of course if sway learns more about how Pink was coddled/trapped "Ah - yes Pink was obeying her programming. It went overboard but it was the first real chance she had to follow it. And I am still angry with her."
Pink would hate the first part of that. But I don't think Sway would be far off. Pink was finally a leader, healer, destroyer, looked after organics, brought change. (even if none were what she expected and some she didn't want.)
Pink would hate the first part of that. But I don't think Sway would be far off. Pink was finally a leader, healer, destroyer, looked after organics, brought change. (even if none were what she expected and some she didn't want.)
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Write what you think is most convenient each time. I really like how this chapter turned out, but if it ends up being too hard writting one specific chapter this way, do not be afraid of trying a single perspective.
Still need to look things over before publishing with spelling mistakes liek this. Also sorry for the terrible pun that I made
- Location
- The Internet
Controversial take, Yellow is completely right in this chapter. (8, Part 4).
Within the last hundred year the Gem Empire has had devastating labour shortages, and she is completely right to use the emergency line to complain about Pink causing delays and get this sorted/solved. It's both a completely valid thing to use an emergency line for and the one of the few realistic things she could be calling about, as the Diamond Authority has no external threats and almost no conceivable 'actual emergencies'.
Ensuing a transition from era II to era III is extremely important, and while it makes sense for Pink to think it's because Yellow isn't taking her seriously, I don't interpret it this way. For something as big as that, Yellow would treat Blue the same way, and after living through the transition from era I to far worse era II Yellow has a very good reason to get this to work.
Yellow's also the only Diamond whose actually trying to run the empire since Pink's death, and her being annoyed with Blue is completely reasonable. As is her attitude on Pink associating with rebels and organics, considering they lead to her death last time. From homeworld's perspective, Yellow Diamond is completely right.
I do love the scene and everyone being in character, and have no problem with it at all. I just don't share Pink's perspective on Yellows motives.
Also, Sway has heard this. Which means she can't just dismiss just Pink as overcooked or off-colour unlike the other Diamonds, as she's just heard Blue and Yellow Diamond being imperfect.
Within the last hundred year the Gem Empire has had devastating labour shortages, and she is completely right to use the emergency line to complain about Pink causing delays and get this sorted/solved. It's both a completely valid thing to use an emergency line for and the one of the few realistic things she could be calling about, as the Diamond Authority has no external threats and almost no conceivable 'actual emergencies'.
Ensuing a transition from era II to era III is extremely important, and while it makes sense for Pink to think it's because Yellow isn't taking her seriously, I don't interpret it this way. For something as big as that, Yellow would treat Blue the same way, and after living through the transition from era I to far worse era II Yellow has a very good reason to get this to work.
Yellow's also the only Diamond whose actually trying to run the empire since Pink's death, and her being annoyed with Blue is completely reasonable. As is her attitude on Pink associating with rebels and organics, considering they lead to her death last time. From homeworld's perspective, Yellow Diamond is completely right.
I do love the scene and everyone being in character, and have no problem with it at all. I just don't share Pink's perspective on Yellows motives.
And now Pink has learned to swear. She's truly grown up.
Er, yes? That's exactly how the Diamond Authority has worked up to now? I get Pink intends this to be a bad thing, but it comes off more as a "water is wet" type of point everyone having this conversation should take for granted. White outranking the other Diamonds is a cornerstone of their society, as is a Diamond telling everyone weaker than them what to do. It's honestly a terrible argument.
And now they learn that other Diamonds are imperfect, flawed and disunited. And that the Diamond's "united front" and "superior wisdom" is a calculated lie, and Pink failing to living up to the Diamond Ideal is also true for Blue and Yellow. Which all together should do more to undermine the Diamond Authority to them than anything Pink has down to her court thus far.
Also, Sway has heard this. Which means she can't just dismiss just Pink as overcooked or off-colour unlike the other Diamonds, as she's just heard Blue and Yellow Diamond being imperfect.
A Diamond having an unintended purpose directly opposed to the stated goal of the Diamond Authority which the other Diamonds do not know about is actually an extremely radical idea that completely undermines multiple core ideological underpinnings of the empire. To the extent it's even more radical than Pink's own account which only has a single radical idea, that Diamonds be able to disagree on the best way to fulfil their shared purpose of running gem society.
Yeah, I try not to make Pink always be right, and even though Yellow isn't reformed like in canon, that doesn't mean she's always wrong. I'm glad that got across.
Well, she was more focusing on Yellow telling Blue what to do being a bad thing, since they are (theoretically) on equal ground.
Yeah, Pink is spreading the cracks in the facade here without even trying.
Yes, it is a very radical idea, but the gem who came up with it isn't exactly in the right headspace right now and is more focused on trying to make sense of what happened to her then she is on the large-scale implications of the excuses she is coming up with.
Departure 9.1
Chapter 9: Departure
Part one
Pink Diamond's return to Earth shook the worldviews of everyone it impacted. For the Crystal Gems and their human friends, it turned their entire history on its head. For the gems of Pinks inner circle, it shook their faith in the infallibility of the Diamonds to its core. And for Pink Diamond herself, it showed her just how much work she had to do.
However, she could not do that work from a hand ship hovering over Beach City, and so after a few days on Earth, and several silent disappearances to visit her friends and family as Rose Quartz, Pink knew she had to return to her colony and get back to work. There was just so much to do, and not much time to do it, and for now, those she cared for would be better off without her around to draw attention to them.
At least, that's what she told herself. Standing in the sand looking up at the temple, she wondered if that was the truth or if this was just her running away from her problems yet again. After a few moments, she sighed and headed up the stairs, the most trusted members of her court following her. First up, Spinel was nearly jumping as she walked along, her bouncy gait hiding the conflicted feelings about the Crystal Gems that had delayed their meeting until the last moment. Following her was Fire Opal 6C3, who had somehow when Pink wasn't looking become Spinel's friend, and with her was Iolite, the small purple investigator's stance indicating that she was ready to run away at any time. Finally, Sway, the Pink Lace Agate in charge of Pinks guards, took up the rear, and was clearly unhappy about this. Pink had told her that she did not need to attend, but she had insisted. After all, the Quartzes that would be left on Earth to protect the work on The Cluster and research into how gem-human hybrids worked were technically under her command, and she felt a responsibility towards them.
Not enough of a responsibility to pretend to be happy about this situation, but enough to attend.
When Pink knocked on the door, Steven came running. "Hi! Everyone's here!." He said, gesturing to the collected gems in the house. As Pink waved at the assembled gems (and Steven and Connie), she noticed a few noticeable missing gems. Bismuth not being here I understand, but Sapphire? And that Lapis Steven is friends with isn't here either… she sighed, resigned. I can't expect them to suddenly be happy to see me again, not after everything I did, but I was hoping-
"So, you're Steven, huh?" Spinel leaped forward, stretching her neck like rubber to spin it around Steven and look at him from every direction. "The name's Spinel, pleasure to meet ya!" She said, grabbing Steven's hand and shaking vigorously. "Nice place you got here."
Steven found himself carried along by Spinel's energy. "Ye.. yeah, I'm Steven. It's nice to meet you, Spinel!" He said as his surprise drifted away. "You're very stretchy."
"Yes I am!" Spinel said proudly. "It's pretty great, you want me to show you how it works?"
"I don't-"
"I do!" Amethyst said, jumping down from the loft. As the trio began to talk, Pink waved the rest of her inner circle inside and got to work.
"Iolite, 6C3, Pearl and Peridot here will be working with you on The Cluster and the hybrid research."
"Hello!" Pearl said with a smile that anyone who knew her body language could tell was forced. "I look forward to working with you."
Iolite said nothing, turning to Peridot and raising an inquisitive eyebrow, and the short green gem knew exactly what was being asked. "Yes, on Earth Pearls run things. You get used to it, and if you don't get used to it fast enough she punches you in the face. Please refer any further questions about the chain of command to Pearl."
At that, both investigative gems turned to look at Pearl, who was projecting an air of smug satisfaction. Pink knew that look well, it was one of her favorites for hiding just how much she was hurting on the inside. As the four began to talk, she turned around to find Sway… kneeling down and talking to Steven, who had slipped away from Amethyst and Spinel when her back was turned. To make things stranger, Amethyst had dragged Ruby into their shape shifting discussion, leaving all the gems paired off without Pink. Huh, I guess… I guess I'll just wait here for someone who wants to talk to me?
[Earlier, Steven POV]
"I don't know Amethyst, I'm not really all that into shapeshifting, and none of that other stuff seems that fun…"
"Yeah, plus I can't do it at all." Connie mentioned.
"Just do it as Stevonnie dudes!" Amethyst told them before turning back to Spinel. "That sounds like an amazing prank! Spinel, you've got to teach me!"
"Well, it's all mental, you need to reach deep into your gem…" Steven and Connie walked away as Spinel began to explain how she stretched her body like rubber.
Wandering over to the counter, he bumped into the large pink gem that Amethyst had called an "Agate". Stumbling backwards, he stammered out an apology as she looked down on him, but after a moment he heard her sigh and kneel down.
"Do not apologize more than necessary, once is enough to show that you know you did wrong. Beyond that, any further apologies simply waste time." She told him, her voice firm and solid.
"I… I'll try to remember that." Steven said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. After a moment, he extended his hand to introduce himself. "I'm Steven, and this is Connie, who are you?"
"I am Pink Lace Agate Facet 5 Cut 7XA." She responded. "I am the commander of Pink Diamonds personal guard."
"Oh, that… that must be difficult, with her running off all the time." Connie said, Steven wincing as he thought of all the trouble he was causing by asking his mom to spend more time with him.
"It is, but my task would not be so important if it were easy. If I could, I would keep her under constant guard, but as an Agate it is not my place to command my Diamond."
"Well, why not just tell her she's making things harder for you?" Steven asked.
"That's… not how things are done."
"Why not? That's how the Crystal Gems do things, and she set all that up!" Connie said.
Sway just stared at the small hybrid in front of her, her mind running wild as she considered. She did say she wants me to think for myself… "Well, I'll see about that in the future." She told Steven, who gave her a small smile. "However, that is not why I'm here. You have been informed of the plan for a small contingent of Quartzes to remain on Earth, correct?" He nodded and she continued. "I will be visiting regularly to ensure they are not causing trouble. Quartzes left unsupervised have a tendency to break things."
Steven gave her a smile. "So we'll be seeing you around more? That's neat, I can show you how to ask for stuff!" he said, putting a small smile on her face.
"Your eagerness to be of assistance does you credit." She said, standing back to her full height. "However, your lack of knowledge of proper procedures is concerning. I will rectify that when we meet again." She turned away, looking at Peridot, who was in the middle of explaining the epic tale of how, even though Steven bubbled The Cluster, if it wasn't for her he never would have gotten near. "For now, My Diamond has seen fit to place that Peridot in charge of this research, and I must speak to her before I leave gems under my command on another world to guard her."
"Ok, see you around." Steven said as Sway walked away from him and Connie. Turning to the side, he saw his mom watching them, a smile on her face. "Oh, hi mom." he said awkwardly.
"Hi Steven." she replied, amusement in her voice. "Are you two having a good time?"
"Yeah."
"Good."
The three stood still, neither knowing what to say. After all, Connie didn't want to get between the two on their last day together for a while, Steven had no experience having a mother, and she had no experience with being a mother, so as the other gems in the room talked the two of them were stuck with awkward small talk.
"So… have you talked to Dad recently?"
"Yes, I had a talk with him and Pearl a couple days ago, and I'll be meeting him one more time before I leave."
"Alright."
"..."
"..."
"... So…" Pink began "How did you two meet?"
"Oh, uhhhh…" Steven rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. "She was reading on the beach, I went over to talk to her and a rock fell of the temple and I accidentally summoned my bubble around us and we had to try to get out of it together."
"Oh! I think Pearl told me about that…" Pink said. "You didn't want them interrupting your 'funky flow' I think she said."
Steven groaned, his face red with embarrassment as Connie giggled. "I was young and naive then." He said, confidently ignoring that he was only a year and a half older now. "I've grown up, become wiser to the ways of the world. Connie helped! Did you know that there are places where you can just go and borrow books?"
"No, I didn't" Pink said, genuinely surprised, drawing a shocked gasp from Connie, who immediately began to explain. "They're called libraries, and they have huge rooms full of books on just about anything, and as long as you bring it back in two weeks or less and don't damage them it's entirely free! Growing up my parents moved around a lot, and I spent a lot of my days in libraries, so I know a lot about them!"
"Me and Connie go to the one in Beach City every week or so, I've been learning a lot about being human from her." Steven said, a big smile on his face.
Pink frowned, remembering how Pearl had confessed that Steven had been raised by them and Greg hadn't had much time to teach him about being human, but she quickly wiped the expression from her face. "That's wonderful Steven, I'm so happy that you're learning more about both sides of your heritage."
"Yeah I-"
Steven was cut off as a loud crash rang through the beach house. Turning to the side, the assembled gems stared at the sight of Amethyst and Spinel, their forms stretched out like noodles and wrapped into knots with each other, filling the loft where Steven's bed was. The crash was apparently from the TV, which had been knocked to the ground as the two had done… whatever had caused that. Ruby, meanwhile, was laughing at the two from the couch, cheering them on.
No one spoke for a moment, and as Ruby read the room and fell quiet the entire room fell silent. The two shapeshifters' forms began to glow, and soon enough they were back to normal, sitting on the edge of the loft with guilty expressions. Pink let out a soft chuckle and hung her head.
"Do I even want to know what you were trying to do?"
Both gems shook their heads, and Pink let out a soft sigh as she realized everyone was looking at her, waiting to see how she would react. "Alright, just… just clean up the mess and don't do it again." She said, watching as the two guilty looking gems smiled and nodded quickly. Amethyst reached down and scooped up the wreckage of Steven's TV.
"Don't worry, I've got another one in my room with all the other human junk." She said, heading towards the door, ignoring Sway's glare as the Agate fumed at the disrespectful attitude of a Quartz. Pink put her hand on her shoulder, and she stepped back, watching as the door into the temple opened. Iolite meanwhile seemed very interested in the piles of human technology, and as the door closed Steven heard her muttering something to herself. As the room descended into an awkward silence, Spinel perked back up and bounced over to Steven and Connie.
"Soooooo… you're Steven, huh?" She asked, a mischievous grin on her face. "Sorry about that… whatever that was. Shapeshifting is more of an art than a science." Wrapping her arm around him, she leaned in. "It's also a big no-no on Homeworld, which is why the fussy purple one and the uptight pink one don't like it."
Pink intervened as Sway and Iolite began to splutter indignantly.
"What? I'm just fooling around, it's all in good fun!" She said, stretching her arms out to pull the two offended gems into a hug. "See! We're all friends here!"
If looks could shatter her two "friends" would have shattered her right there, and Steven found himself wondering if she was doing that on purpose to distract from what Amethyst had done. Before either gem in her arms could do anything, Spinel had moved on to Pearl, who was doing her best not to laugh at the Homeworld gems discomfort.
"Speaking of friends…" Spinel said as she approached, her voice lowering and her movements slowing down, causing Pearl to step back and prepare to fight. "Hi Pearl! How have you been?"
Pearl just blinked, not expecting that sort of greeting. "Hello Spinel, I've been fine."
"Good! Like the new outfit, it looks a lot better than that silly dress."
"Thank you…?" Pearl said, still bracing herself.
"Yeah, you must have had a lot of chances to try new outfits, what with Pink bringing you with her to Earth and going on adventures. Must have been nice. Too bad she didn't think to invite me." Spinel said, sarcasm dripping in her voice.
Oh, this is why she didn't come to visit before now. Steven thought as his mom moved over to Pearl and Spinel, stammering out an explanation as Pearl whirled on the stretchy pink gem.
"Spinel, I thought we were passed this-"
"Yeah, so did I" Spinel replied. "Then you dragged me off to meet my replacement and started making kissy faces at her-" she cut herself off, her fists clenched and her eyes watering.
"We didn't-!" Pearl shouted
"Spinel I'm so sorry-"
Spinel cut them off, tears beginning to flow freely. "No, this isn't your fault. We already talked about you leaving me behind, and I shouldn't have come if I was just going to bring it up again. I'll be back on the ship when you're ready to leave." With that, she turned and left, not giving anyone time to respond.
Pink leaned in and began talking to Pearl, too low for Steven to make out, and he looked at Connie, who was very clearly uncomfortable being in the middle of all the drama. Silently, he moved to the side, getting closer to Iolite as he did so, who turned and began to approach them.
"Greetings Steven, I am Iolite Face 5 cut 2YG, I will be assisting Peridot here with the research on your hybrid body." She turned to Connie "I do not know you." She said, her voice flat and nonthreatening, but not welcoming either.
"I'm Connie, Connie Maheswaran." She said, holding out her hand.
Iolite looked at her outstretched arm "Is this some sort of greeting ritual?"
It's just like Peridot all over again. Steven thought as the small green gem popped up beside him.
"Yes it is! The correct response is to extend your own arm out and grip his hand firmly, followed by a short vertical oscillation. It's actually a very nuanced ritual which can convey many different meanings. For example, gripping longer and harder than normal is a display of dominance, while an alternative that involves forming a fist and simply touching knuckles shows a casual, friendly relationship. The version she is using is for formal greetings." Peridot helpfully informed Iolite, who nodded seriously as she reached out and shook Connie's hand.
"Fascinating, you have researched their habits as well?"
"Indeed! Humans document a great many aspects of their culture, so much of it can be understood without ever interacting with one! Not that interacting with humans is bad, but only a few of them, like the ones in this settlement, know about gems and they start freaking out when you explain the truth to them."
"Oh yeah, that reminded me!" Steven cut in. "Uncle Andy says he's sorry for passing out and smashing your sculpture. He also said something about dad being a crazy SOB and when I asked what that meant he told me he'd tell me when I'm older."
"Why would that matter?"
Connie shrugged. "That's just something adults say."
"Yes, it is quite annoying. It is even present in the cultural records I use for research, which makes learning about humanity difficult."
Realization hit Steven. "Peridot… have you been just using Camp Pining Hearts to learn about humanity?"
"What an interesting question! Connie asked Lapis the same thing, a clear sign of your compatibility with her!" Peridot exclaimed as Connie placed her head in her hands.
"Peridot…"
"What is this… 'Camp Pining Hearts'?" Iolite asked, confused.
"Only the pinnacle of human culture!" Peridot exclaimed as Steven felt a wave of regret at having shown her the show.
"Peridot, it's the only show you've watched. Maybe if you watch another show you could learn more about Earth and humans." Connie argued.
"Yeah Peridot, there's so much more than that on Earth, you really should learn more about Earth."
"I agree with Steven and Connie." Iolite stated, surprising everyone. "Logically, if you wish to learn about a subject, using multiple sources is necessary to guarantee accuracy."
"I know a few shows you could watch Peridot!" Steven said, a smile on his face. "We'll show you so much about Earth!"
"I suppose that that will be useful for.." Peridot trailed off as Rubies voice cut through the background.
"Don't insult her like that you upper-crust snob!"
The four turned to watch as Pearl held Ruby back from jumping on 6C3 while Pink held Sway back from intervening. The Fire Opal was on the ground, propping herself up with her arms, a look of confusion on her face.
Oh boy, here we go… Steven thought as Ruby kept screaming over Pearls attempts to calm her down.
Authors Note:
"Will Spinel ever stop feeling hurt by what Pink did? What made Ruby go ballistic? Will Peridot and Lapis ever watch a show other than Camp Pining Hearts? Find out next week onDragonballZ Synthesis!"
In all seriousness, I think you can all guess what was said that got Ruby angry, and next week I'll show the full thing from Pink's POV.
In the meantime, let me know how you felt about the chapter, and thank you all for being such a great group of readers.
Part one
Pink Diamond's return to Earth shook the worldviews of everyone it impacted. For the Crystal Gems and their human friends, it turned their entire history on its head. For the gems of Pinks inner circle, it shook their faith in the infallibility of the Diamonds to its core. And for Pink Diamond herself, it showed her just how much work she had to do.
However, she could not do that work from a hand ship hovering over Beach City, and so after a few days on Earth, and several silent disappearances to visit her friends and family as Rose Quartz, Pink knew she had to return to her colony and get back to work. There was just so much to do, and not much time to do it, and for now, those she cared for would be better off without her around to draw attention to them.
At least, that's what she told herself. Standing in the sand looking up at the temple, she wondered if that was the truth or if this was just her running away from her problems yet again. After a few moments, she sighed and headed up the stairs, the most trusted members of her court following her. First up, Spinel was nearly jumping as she walked along, her bouncy gait hiding the conflicted feelings about the Crystal Gems that had delayed their meeting until the last moment. Following her was Fire Opal 6C3, who had somehow when Pink wasn't looking become Spinel's friend, and with her was Iolite, the small purple investigator's stance indicating that she was ready to run away at any time. Finally, Sway, the Pink Lace Agate in charge of Pinks guards, took up the rear, and was clearly unhappy about this. Pink had told her that she did not need to attend, but she had insisted. After all, the Quartzes that would be left on Earth to protect the work on The Cluster and research into how gem-human hybrids worked were technically under her command, and she felt a responsibility towards them.
Not enough of a responsibility to pretend to be happy about this situation, but enough to attend.
When Pink knocked on the door, Steven came running. "Hi! Everyone's here!." He said, gesturing to the collected gems in the house. As Pink waved at the assembled gems (and Steven and Connie), she noticed a few noticeable missing gems. Bismuth not being here I understand, but Sapphire? And that Lapis Steven is friends with isn't here either… she sighed, resigned. I can't expect them to suddenly be happy to see me again, not after everything I did, but I was hoping-
"So, you're Steven, huh?" Spinel leaped forward, stretching her neck like rubber to spin it around Steven and look at him from every direction. "The name's Spinel, pleasure to meet ya!" She said, grabbing Steven's hand and shaking vigorously. "Nice place you got here."
Steven found himself carried along by Spinel's energy. "Ye.. yeah, I'm Steven. It's nice to meet you, Spinel!" He said as his surprise drifted away. "You're very stretchy."
"Yes I am!" Spinel said proudly. "It's pretty great, you want me to show you how it works?"
"I don't-"
"I do!" Amethyst said, jumping down from the loft. As the trio began to talk, Pink waved the rest of her inner circle inside and got to work.
"Iolite, 6C3, Pearl and Peridot here will be working with you on The Cluster and the hybrid research."
"Hello!" Pearl said with a smile that anyone who knew her body language could tell was forced. "I look forward to working with you."
Iolite said nothing, turning to Peridot and raising an inquisitive eyebrow, and the short green gem knew exactly what was being asked. "Yes, on Earth Pearls run things. You get used to it, and if you don't get used to it fast enough she punches you in the face. Please refer any further questions about the chain of command to Pearl."
At that, both investigative gems turned to look at Pearl, who was projecting an air of smug satisfaction. Pink knew that look well, it was one of her favorites for hiding just how much she was hurting on the inside. As the four began to talk, she turned around to find Sway… kneeling down and talking to Steven, who had slipped away from Amethyst and Spinel when her back was turned. To make things stranger, Amethyst had dragged Ruby into their shape shifting discussion, leaving all the gems paired off without Pink. Huh, I guess… I guess I'll just wait here for someone who wants to talk to me?
[Earlier, Steven POV]
"I don't know Amethyst, I'm not really all that into shapeshifting, and none of that other stuff seems that fun…"
"Yeah, plus I can't do it at all." Connie mentioned.
"Just do it as Stevonnie dudes!" Amethyst told them before turning back to Spinel. "That sounds like an amazing prank! Spinel, you've got to teach me!"
"Well, it's all mental, you need to reach deep into your gem…" Steven and Connie walked away as Spinel began to explain how she stretched her body like rubber.
Wandering over to the counter, he bumped into the large pink gem that Amethyst had called an "Agate". Stumbling backwards, he stammered out an apology as she looked down on him, but after a moment he heard her sigh and kneel down.
"Do not apologize more than necessary, once is enough to show that you know you did wrong. Beyond that, any further apologies simply waste time." She told him, her voice firm and solid.
"I… I'll try to remember that." Steven said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. After a moment, he extended his hand to introduce himself. "I'm Steven, and this is Connie, who are you?"
"I am Pink Lace Agate Facet 5 Cut 7XA." She responded. "I am the commander of Pink Diamonds personal guard."
"Oh, that… that must be difficult, with her running off all the time." Connie said, Steven wincing as he thought of all the trouble he was causing by asking his mom to spend more time with him.
"It is, but my task would not be so important if it were easy. If I could, I would keep her under constant guard, but as an Agate it is not my place to command my Diamond."
"Well, why not just tell her she's making things harder for you?" Steven asked.
"That's… not how things are done."
"Why not? That's how the Crystal Gems do things, and she set all that up!" Connie said.
Sway just stared at the small hybrid in front of her, her mind running wild as she considered. She did say she wants me to think for myself… "Well, I'll see about that in the future." She told Steven, who gave her a small smile. "However, that is not why I'm here. You have been informed of the plan for a small contingent of Quartzes to remain on Earth, correct?" He nodded and she continued. "I will be visiting regularly to ensure they are not causing trouble. Quartzes left unsupervised have a tendency to break things."
Steven gave her a smile. "So we'll be seeing you around more? That's neat, I can show you how to ask for stuff!" he said, putting a small smile on her face.
"Your eagerness to be of assistance does you credit." She said, standing back to her full height. "However, your lack of knowledge of proper procedures is concerning. I will rectify that when we meet again." She turned away, looking at Peridot, who was in the middle of explaining the epic tale of how, even though Steven bubbled The Cluster, if it wasn't for her he never would have gotten near. "For now, My Diamond has seen fit to place that Peridot in charge of this research, and I must speak to her before I leave gems under my command on another world to guard her."
"Ok, see you around." Steven said as Sway walked away from him and Connie. Turning to the side, he saw his mom watching them, a smile on her face. "Oh, hi mom." he said awkwardly.
"Hi Steven." she replied, amusement in her voice. "Are you two having a good time?"
"Yeah."
"Good."
The three stood still, neither knowing what to say. After all, Connie didn't want to get between the two on their last day together for a while, Steven had no experience having a mother, and she had no experience with being a mother, so as the other gems in the room talked the two of them were stuck with awkward small talk.
"So… have you talked to Dad recently?"
"Yes, I had a talk with him and Pearl a couple days ago, and I'll be meeting him one more time before I leave."
"Alright."
"..."
"..."
"... So…" Pink began "How did you two meet?"
"Oh, uhhhh…" Steven rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. "She was reading on the beach, I went over to talk to her and a rock fell of the temple and I accidentally summoned my bubble around us and we had to try to get out of it together."
"Oh! I think Pearl told me about that…" Pink said. "You didn't want them interrupting your 'funky flow' I think she said."
Steven groaned, his face red with embarrassment as Connie giggled. "I was young and naive then." He said, confidently ignoring that he was only a year and a half older now. "I've grown up, become wiser to the ways of the world. Connie helped! Did you know that there are places where you can just go and borrow books?"
"No, I didn't" Pink said, genuinely surprised, drawing a shocked gasp from Connie, who immediately began to explain. "They're called libraries, and they have huge rooms full of books on just about anything, and as long as you bring it back in two weeks or less and don't damage them it's entirely free! Growing up my parents moved around a lot, and I spent a lot of my days in libraries, so I know a lot about them!"
"Me and Connie go to the one in Beach City every week or so, I've been learning a lot about being human from her." Steven said, a big smile on his face.
Pink frowned, remembering how Pearl had confessed that Steven had been raised by them and Greg hadn't had much time to teach him about being human, but she quickly wiped the expression from her face. "That's wonderful Steven, I'm so happy that you're learning more about both sides of your heritage."
"Yeah I-"
Steven was cut off as a loud crash rang through the beach house. Turning to the side, the assembled gems stared at the sight of Amethyst and Spinel, their forms stretched out like noodles and wrapped into knots with each other, filling the loft where Steven's bed was. The crash was apparently from the TV, which had been knocked to the ground as the two had done… whatever had caused that. Ruby, meanwhile, was laughing at the two from the couch, cheering them on.
No one spoke for a moment, and as Ruby read the room and fell quiet the entire room fell silent. The two shapeshifters' forms began to glow, and soon enough they were back to normal, sitting on the edge of the loft with guilty expressions. Pink let out a soft chuckle and hung her head.
"Do I even want to know what you were trying to do?"
Both gems shook their heads, and Pink let out a soft sigh as she realized everyone was looking at her, waiting to see how she would react. "Alright, just… just clean up the mess and don't do it again." She said, watching as the two guilty looking gems smiled and nodded quickly. Amethyst reached down and scooped up the wreckage of Steven's TV.
"Don't worry, I've got another one in my room with all the other human junk." She said, heading towards the door, ignoring Sway's glare as the Agate fumed at the disrespectful attitude of a Quartz. Pink put her hand on her shoulder, and she stepped back, watching as the door into the temple opened. Iolite meanwhile seemed very interested in the piles of human technology, and as the door closed Steven heard her muttering something to herself. As the room descended into an awkward silence, Spinel perked back up and bounced over to Steven and Connie.
"Soooooo… you're Steven, huh?" She asked, a mischievous grin on her face. "Sorry about that… whatever that was. Shapeshifting is more of an art than a science." Wrapping her arm around him, she leaned in. "It's also a big no-no on Homeworld, which is why the fussy purple one and the uptight pink one don't like it."
Pink intervened as Sway and Iolite began to splutter indignantly.
"What? I'm just fooling around, it's all in good fun!" She said, stretching her arms out to pull the two offended gems into a hug. "See! We're all friends here!"
If looks could shatter her two "friends" would have shattered her right there, and Steven found himself wondering if she was doing that on purpose to distract from what Amethyst had done. Before either gem in her arms could do anything, Spinel had moved on to Pearl, who was doing her best not to laugh at the Homeworld gems discomfort.
"Speaking of friends…" Spinel said as she approached, her voice lowering and her movements slowing down, causing Pearl to step back and prepare to fight. "Hi Pearl! How have you been?"
Pearl just blinked, not expecting that sort of greeting. "Hello Spinel, I've been fine."
"Good! Like the new outfit, it looks a lot better than that silly dress."
"Thank you…?" Pearl said, still bracing herself.
"Yeah, you must have had a lot of chances to try new outfits, what with Pink bringing you with her to Earth and going on adventures. Must have been nice. Too bad she didn't think to invite me." Spinel said, sarcasm dripping in her voice.
Oh, this is why she didn't come to visit before now. Steven thought as his mom moved over to Pearl and Spinel, stammering out an explanation as Pearl whirled on the stretchy pink gem.
"Spinel, I thought we were passed this-"
"Yeah, so did I" Spinel replied. "Then you dragged me off to meet my replacement and started making kissy faces at her-" she cut herself off, her fists clenched and her eyes watering.
"We didn't-!" Pearl shouted
"Spinel I'm so sorry-"
Spinel cut them off, tears beginning to flow freely. "No, this isn't your fault. We already talked about you leaving me behind, and I shouldn't have come if I was just going to bring it up again. I'll be back on the ship when you're ready to leave." With that, she turned and left, not giving anyone time to respond.
Pink leaned in and began talking to Pearl, too low for Steven to make out, and he looked at Connie, who was very clearly uncomfortable being in the middle of all the drama. Silently, he moved to the side, getting closer to Iolite as he did so, who turned and began to approach them.
"Greetings Steven, I am Iolite Face 5 cut 2YG, I will be assisting Peridot here with the research on your hybrid body." She turned to Connie "I do not know you." She said, her voice flat and nonthreatening, but not welcoming either.
"I'm Connie, Connie Maheswaran." She said, holding out her hand.
Iolite looked at her outstretched arm "Is this some sort of greeting ritual?"
It's just like Peridot all over again. Steven thought as the small green gem popped up beside him.
"Yes it is! The correct response is to extend your own arm out and grip his hand firmly, followed by a short vertical oscillation. It's actually a very nuanced ritual which can convey many different meanings. For example, gripping longer and harder than normal is a display of dominance, while an alternative that involves forming a fist and simply touching knuckles shows a casual, friendly relationship. The version she is using is for formal greetings." Peridot helpfully informed Iolite, who nodded seriously as she reached out and shook Connie's hand.
"Fascinating, you have researched their habits as well?"
"Indeed! Humans document a great many aspects of their culture, so much of it can be understood without ever interacting with one! Not that interacting with humans is bad, but only a few of them, like the ones in this settlement, know about gems and they start freaking out when you explain the truth to them."
"Oh yeah, that reminded me!" Steven cut in. "Uncle Andy says he's sorry for passing out and smashing your sculpture. He also said something about dad being a crazy SOB and when I asked what that meant he told me he'd tell me when I'm older."
"Why would that matter?"
Connie shrugged. "That's just something adults say."
"Yes, it is quite annoying. It is even present in the cultural records I use for research, which makes learning about humanity difficult."
Realization hit Steven. "Peridot… have you been just using Camp Pining Hearts to learn about humanity?"
"What an interesting question! Connie asked Lapis the same thing, a clear sign of your compatibility with her!" Peridot exclaimed as Connie placed her head in her hands.
"Peridot…"
"What is this… 'Camp Pining Hearts'?" Iolite asked, confused.
"Only the pinnacle of human culture!" Peridot exclaimed as Steven felt a wave of regret at having shown her the show.
"Peridot, it's the only show you've watched. Maybe if you watch another show you could learn more about Earth and humans." Connie argued.
"Yeah Peridot, there's so much more than that on Earth, you really should learn more about Earth."
"I agree with Steven and Connie." Iolite stated, surprising everyone. "Logically, if you wish to learn about a subject, using multiple sources is necessary to guarantee accuracy."
"I know a few shows you could watch Peridot!" Steven said, a smile on his face. "We'll show you so much about Earth!"
"I suppose that that will be useful for.." Peridot trailed off as Rubies voice cut through the background.
"Don't insult her like that you upper-crust snob!"
The four turned to watch as Pearl held Ruby back from jumping on 6C3 while Pink held Sway back from intervening. The Fire Opal was on the ground, propping herself up with her arms, a look of confusion on her face.
Oh boy, here we go… Steven thought as Ruby kept screaming over Pearls attempts to calm her down.
Authors Note:
"Will Spinel ever stop feeling hurt by what Pink did? What made Ruby go ballistic? Will Peridot and Lapis ever watch a show other than Camp Pining Hearts? Find out next week on
In all seriousness, I think you can all guess what was said that got Ruby angry, and next week I'll show the full thing from Pink's POV.
In the meantime, let me know how you felt about the chapter, and thank you all for being such a great group of readers.
Last edited:
- Location
- The Internet
And has Spinel's outburst at Pearl given Lolite the clues she need to work out that this Pearl in fact Pink Diamond's former Pearl? And from there work out that she is the renegade Pearl? (Lolite is an investigator, and with this and Pink Diamond's account on starting the rebellion she should be able to put this together. Especially since she's going to be around Pearl a lot.)