Pale Moon
Author's Note: Well, with the reveal of Pink Diamond, I've had to make some changes to my overal Scary!White series. (Including no longer having the Whink Diamond element to them.) I had an idea come from the new episode to tie in with my AU fics after the episodes aired. This will play if Stevonnie crashed on a DIFFERENT planet formerly used by White Diamond. This will also have some horror aspects of it. The song "Ordinary World" by The Hit House also inspired this fic.
Still an AU with similarities to Jungle Moon.
"If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself."
― George Orwell, 1984
"In the dark, thoughts become louder."
― Mie Hansson
By: VampireQueenAkasha
~O~
Stevonnie struggled with the controls of the Star Skipper. Alarms were going off and they had no idea how to stop it.
"Lars!" they shouted, pushing several buttons to reach the Sun Incinerator. "Lars! We're hit! Nothing's working!"
Lars' face came up on the holographic screen. "Wha-What is your course? I'll try to intercept - "
The connection was suddenly cut off and the screen disappeared. Stevonnie began to panic and their eyes widened.
"Lars?" they exclaimed. They groaned, giving the console a kick. "What is wrong with you, ship?"
As if on cue, the screens on the ship displayed warnings everywhere while beeping loudly. Stevonnie groaned and made a face.
"Oh, pretty much everything..." they muttered. "Well, at least the display works."
The display of the ship suddenly disappeared, casting the cockpit into darkness. Stevonnie's eyes widened and they shouted out in anger and fright.
"Downer!"
The ship's nose tilted downward, toward a nearby planet. Passing through its atmosphere; immediately welcomed by the sight of several towers of black stone amid a ruined grassland. Stevonnie struggled with the controls in an effort to ease the ship up.
"I can't pull up, we're gonna crash!"
Stevonnie looked up sharply and raised their hands to their face, bracing for impact as the ship crashed into a tree. The sight was seen in the distance through ruined gem structures by several pairs of white eyes. A curious chirp filled the air.
Debris from the ruined ship rained down and Stevonnie rolled down, safe and unharmed in a pink bubble. They groaned in pain and sat up as the bubble popped, rubbing their head.
"Oh man..." they groaned. They looked around curiously, marveling at the black towers with a mixture of unease and awe. "Where are we now?"
There was a soft wind that whistled through the air; it vibrated the black stones, resonating a deep, almost ancient pitch that made Stevonnie shudder in response. Something about it was strange, far too alien for them to really comprehend.
They cupped their mouths and called out. "Uh, hello? Anyone out there? Anyone at all?"
No response. Stevonnie looked around warily and gave a nervous laugh. "Okay, I'm fine. We're fine. I'll find the ship's radio and Lars will pick us right up. And...whoa..."
They stopped to look up toward the sky at a broken, Earth-like structure floating. It was such an odd, yet interesting sight.
Suddenly, the sound of humming turned their attention toward the radio of the ship nearby; it had remained enchased in the ruins of the cockpit.
Stevonnie gasped in shock, rushing toward it. "The cockpit!" they exclaimed. Working the buttons frantically, Stevonnie attempted to get in contact with Lars. "Hello?! This is Star Skipper calling Sun Incinerator. It's Stevonnie! Steven and Connie? We're stranded. We need help! Come on! Don't leave me here!"
The radio continued to hum after a few moments before powering down. Stevonnie gave a groan of frustration and stood up.
"What do we do now? That was our best chance." they cried, thrusting their hands in the air. "We can't fix the radio, the ship's beyond hope, no one knows where we are."
Suddenly, there was a soft rumbling that turned their attention toward one of the black stones. Tilting their head, Stevonnie watched it cautiously, producing their shield. Whatever was behind the stone, they had to be careful.
"Hello?" Stevonnie called. "Who's there?"
It took only a few seconds before a shape lumbered from behind the stone; Stevonnie lowered their shield somewhat, horrified by what they were seeing.
"What is that...?" they gasped.
The creature looked like a gem; perhaps a form of quartz given the build and height. Her back was bowed forward, long yellow hair tattered and trailing a series of mats down her back. Her fingers were nothing but large, monstrous claws and bits of dirt had caked them in a mess.
Her face... Stevonnie had never seen a gem look like that before. Her face was covered in what looked like black tar dripping from her mouth. Her eyes were blood red and her teeth were sharp fangs. She snarled and gurgled, staggering toward them with malice in her gaze.
"H-Hello?" Stevonnie said, frightened and backing away. "Hey, hey wait..."
It was futile imploring the gem as she already lunged forward. Stevonnie ducked as the gem surged over their head and raised their shield to protect themselves as the gem charged forward.
Her form crashed against Stevonnie's shield, black tar spewing from her mouth as she snarled and reached for them. Stevonnie grunted, struggling with effort to keep her back; their feet were inched further and further from the might of the quartz.
Stevonnie reached behind them for their sword and shoved the gem back as hard as they could. Before it could recover, their sword slashed through the air, cleaving through the gem's form and leaving it to dispel onto the ground.
O
Stevonnie was shaken, but slowly approached the gem lying in the ground. They bent down to retrieve it and formed a bubble. Studying the gem inside, they tilted their head, noticing the odd spider-like crack of black in the gem's surface.
"What is going on?" they wondered.
Then, the sounds of snarls turned their attention toward the horizon; much to their horror, they noticed several more strange gems making their way toward them, drawn by the noise of battle. Gems of every shape and size with the same black tar-like substance oozing from their mouths. They snarled and made their way toward Stevonnie.
More and more were coming. Far too many to fight on their own.
"Oh no!" Stevonnie groaned, "Too many!"
They turned and ran from the snarling aberrations, hurrying toward what looked like a forest. The gems were spurred forward by their movement; they chased Stevonnie, their frightening sounds close. Stevonnie raced as fast as they could in an effort to lose them.
"Hey!" a voice hissed.
Stevonnie looked up, spotting a small light in the doorway of a gem structure. A figure was beckoning toward them.
"Hurry! In here!"
Stevonnie didn't want to take the chance with the crazed gems behind them, so they rushed through the door and into pitch darkness. The door was slammed shut and the gems collided into it, piling on top of one another.
O
Stevonnie could still hear the sounds from inside the building. They panted, struggling to collect their breath. The door was double-barred steel, so hopefully it would hold them.
"Hush... they see us..."
"They needed help. What could we do?"
"They will hurt us. Like the others."
Stevonnie heard two voices whispering in the dark; one was low, warm and comforting while the other was high-pitched and frightened. Their eyes struggled to focus on the dim light they'd seen earlier; a staff, held by a large figure. Hooded and cloaked. It was hard to see who this was.
"Hello?" Stevonnie said, carefully.
"Hush, and shush!" the high-pitched voice hissed, "She might be listening..."
"She has...other matters on her mind..."
Stevonnie walked up and the figure gave a soft, unsettled gasp, stepping away from them. The shape was taller, perhaps about the same height as Jasper had been; wrapped in a taggered black cloak and wielding a staff where the small light was coming from.
"Who are you?" Stevonnie asked.
The figure straightened, made several sounds of contemplation before pulling their hood away. Stevonnie's eyes widened and they couldn't help but back away in surprise.
The shape was a gem, given the sharp cut stone on her forehead, but she had cracked pink lips, sunken black eyes and withered pink, curly locks. Behind her head was another head, smaller and with white eyes, whimpering softly.
"Um...hello," Stevonnie tried to be polite.
"Our name..." the gem mumbled thoughtfully, "I...it's hard to remember what we once were. Oh, yes... Magnetite is what most call us. A forgotten fusion from a forgotten era."
"Oh!" Stevonnie blinked, surprised. "You're a fusion?"
"That's right." The cloak parted, revealing a secondary set of slender arms beneath two large ones. She smiled.
"I'm Stevonnie. It's nice meeting you. I'm glad you were here to help us," Stevonnie told her, "We would have been toast if not for you."
"Mm, yes," Magnetite told them, nodding once, "I am glad to have found you. I heard the ship crash and I saw the Forgotten chasing you."
"Forgotten?"
"Yes. The...corrupted gems." Magnetite continued to explain. She seemed to hesitate with her words, perhaps unsure of how to describe it, "Lost experiments from a forgotten time. When the Diamonds created the Corruption, there had to be...test subjects."
Stevonnie's eyes widened. "That's awful!"
"I know, dear. I know." Magnetite looked ahead at the door and her features soured somewhat. "This is not the place to contemplate. Come. Come with me where it's safe. And...quiet."
Stevonnie lingered somewhat, glancing over their shoulder before they decided to follow. The noises of the corrupted gems beating on the door faded in the distance.
"I've just got to hold out until Lars finds me." Stevonnie said, softly to themselves, "Until then, all we have to do is survive."
O
It looked like a garden.
Stevonnie was awestruck by the ruins of the gem structure having been converted to a garden with alien life thriving within. A tall, green alien was drinking from a nearby pool; it reminded them of an Earth Rhino, just languidly grazing.
"Whoa!" Stevonnie exclaimed, "An alien!"
Magnetite chuckled, shaking her head. "You're a curious one, aren't you?"
Just then, a soft chant filled the air. Stevonnie tilted their head and followed Magnetite, curious by the sound. The gem fusion didn't seem like she would explain the sound until they arrived in an enormous chamber filled with gem corruptions.
Stevonnie was shocked by the sight; some had been kept in chains. Others looked disoriented and played with what looked like toys. Others were lying on the floor, moaning and crying. They froze, turning to Magnetite with their sword drawn.
"Explain yourself!" they demanded, "Now!"
Magnetite chuckled, turning to them. "Drawing a sword on your host? Not very kind of you, is it?" she said. Behind her head, the face hissed out with fright.
"Kill us! They will kill us! Told you they can't be trusted!"
"Hush, Jet. It will be fine. I wouldn't trust us either."
Magnetite raised a calming hand to Stevonnie. "Lower your sword. These gems are in my care." she assured them. "These are the ones who still have some manner of their will left. The others out there? Gems who succumbed long before."
Stevonnie lowered their sword slightly. They seemed doubtful, but something about what Magnetite said made sense.
One of the corrupted gems looked like an amethyst; she writhed on a nearby bed, holding her face, which had been replaced with a hideous black mass of teeth. Magnetite sighed sadly and approached her.
"...shatter me...please, just shatter me..." the amethyst sobbed, "Free me from this place...Before I go mad..." She panted, which sounded like sick, weak gurgles, "...Ah, some one...Help me...I'm guilty, I know. But I won't do that again, I promise."
Magnetite placed one hand over her chest and the partially corrupted gem seemed to still for the moment, drawing comfort from the touch. She whimpered, held the hand that touched her and relaxed, sighing long and slow.
Stevonnie watched the scene in silence until they noticed a soft pink light resonate from the fusion. Their eyes widened when they recognized it.
"You're a Rose Quartz..." they exclaimed, stunned.
"Yes," Magnetite told them, turning with a sad sigh. "Part of me, yes..." She seemed to be in thought now, whispering under her breath. "Jet and I...we ran. We shouldn't have ran..."
"Hey..." Stevonnie waved a hand near her face, "Hey, are you alright?"
Magnetite blinked, took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes, I'm sorry. Just...hard to think about it sometimes. I'd prefer not to." She looked at the other partial corruptions and her features smoothed out with sorrow. "I'm doing all that I can to help them, but they succumb eventually. There's nothing we can do for corrupted gems."
Stevonnie nodded sadly. They shared that sentiment. After all, efforts to help Centi hadn't ended the way they'd intended.
Another corruption - a taller, slender white gem - clutched at her face. Her eyes were already red and she began to sniffle.
"Ah, my...my Diamond!" she moaned, sobbing, "My Diamond, please, hold me. Please. Don't let me drown..."
The plaintive sounds the corrupted gem uttered tugged at Stevonnie to come closer. They walked up and raised a hand to the gemstone on the gem's chest. Immediately, the being seized, hissed out with a frightened whisper.
"Who...Who's there?" she hissed, seemingly incapable of focusing on Stevonnie. A hopeful smile lit her face. "Are you...are you my friend? Can we be friends?"
"Um..." Stevonnie seemed doubtful. They looked at Magnetite, who shrugged her shoulders once with a sad grimace. Instead of saying no, they looked up and nodded. "Sure, we can be friends. I'm Stevonnie. What's your name?"
"Uh..." the corrupted gem seemed to think for a moment. "Ah...yes...my name. I'm...I'm..."
Her voice began to skip, like a broken record player. Magnetite reached out and took Stevonnie's hand, urging them to follow.
"Come. You can't do anything for her. She must ride it out on her own." she said, gently.
Stevonnie looked over their shoulder as Magnetite led them away. They couldn't stop looking back at the corruptions with sorrow.
O
While they walked, Magnetite began to explain Corruption and what effect it had on gems. Stevonnie remembered Garnet explaining it before, but hearing its "prototype" discussed sounded much worse than anything they'd dealt with.
"Memory's the first to go," Magnetite explained, "Then..." A long sigh. "Rage and blindness follows."
"What do you mean?" Stevonnie asked.
"Along with Corruption, White Diamond tested...other means of control." Magnetite said, hesitantly. "What we see out there is a testament to that."
She paused in front of a cracked mural of White Diamond on the wall. Stevonnie looked at it and remembered White's face from Homeworld. Magnetite saw the grave, shaken look on their face and chuckled softly.
"You've seen her, haven't you?" she asked.
Stevonnie nodded their head. "Yeah. She's...scary."
"Mm. White Diamond wasn't always such." Magnetite continued, "She was what you'd expect from a Diamond, but never ridden with such madness as now. She finds solace in her work and duties to distract her from the failures. I do not condone what she's done for the sake of progress, but I do understand them."
They entered Magnetite's chambers, which consisted of a domain filled with machines, broken statues, and various other interesting things. Stevonnie couldn't help but look around, awestruck.
"Whoa," they said, "This is all yours?"
"Mm, yes, I keep everything I can," Magnetite said, "It's all in order. It...gives me purpose, I suppose."
Stevonnie nodded. They could understand that.
"Listen, we need to find some way to contact our friend Lars," they said, after a few moments, "Do you have a radio or something?"
"There is a means to communicate in the base just up the mountain," Magnetite told them, "But...with the Forgotten, it might pose a challenge."
"I know." Stevonnie replied, nodding. "But I need to get off of this planet. I have friends looking for me." Their face lit up now. "Wait! You can come with us!"
Magnetite's eyes widened and she chuckled, shaking her head. "That's kind of you, but I couldn't."
"No, really!" Stevonnie insisted, moving to her side and sitting beside her. "We would be happy to have you!"
Magnetite seemed hesitant. "Oh... I-I couldn't." A weak laugh escaped her. "Were would I go? I'm much too old and set in my ways."
"There's always a place for someone." Stevonnie said, with a comforting laugh.
Magnetite seemed to think about it, but her smile faded and she looked over her shoulders. "But what of them? I couldn't just...leave them alone. I've cared too much to let them suffer in silence."
Stevonnie thought about it before their features lit up. "We can always bubble them." they offered, "That way, they can rest. They won't have to suffer anymore."
"Really? They will be safe?"
"Yeah. I promise."
Magnetite smiled brightly and it was the first time since Stevonnie had seen her that she looked genuinely...happy.
"We will travel by morning. It won't be safe to walk in the dark."
That late evening, Stevonnie had found sleep in the corner of the chamber under piles of old tapestry. But the sounds of snarls awoke them. They sat up and found Magnetite watching a holographic recording from her gem.
"Magnetite?" Stevonnie said, approaching. "Are you okay?"
No response.
Stevonnie sat down beside her, but noticed the recording playing and their eyes widened.
The planet was in chaos.
Jet, a Nephrite and a Ruby quickly rushed up a flight of stairs, fleeing from the snarling, frightening crowds of corrupted gems.
"Upstairs!" Jet shouted.
They hurried into a room and Jet quickly hurried to barricade the door. It buckled and shook from the force. Nephrite and Ruby held one another, panicking.
"What do we do?" Nephrite cried.
Jet noticed the glass ceiling and quickly rushed toward it, mere seconds as the door was forced from its hinges. A corrupted Jasper charged through, tar dripping from her mouth. She looked from Jet to the other two.
"Jet!" Nephrite screamed.
Jet whimpered and began to climb the wall, frightened beyond measure. Nephrite watched her in horror and the Ruby screeched out in disbelief.
"She's leaving us!" she wailed. "She's leaving us!"
Nephrite gathered Ruby and rushed toward the ceiling, mere seconds as a series of hands grabbed her. Screaming and thrashing, Jet could only watch in horror as corrupted gems seized Ruby and Nephrite, drag them away.
"JET!" Nephrite wailed, seconds as the gem smashed the window and jumped through it.
She ran as fast as she could, while several corrupted gems pursued her. In the distance was a Rose Quartz, waiting by the ship they planned to leave in.
"ROSE!" Jet shrieked.
Rose looked up, her eyes widening. "Were's Nephrite and Ruby?"
"They're gone! We need to go!"
The hologram filtered with static and Stevonnie could only watch gravely as it skipped to a scene of the ship taking off. It made it only a few inches before crowds of corrupted gems jumped onto it, piling their bodies on top to force it back to the ground.
Just as a pink bubble was forming, the image cut out and Magnetite was softly weeping. The secondary head behind hers was also weeping.
Stevonnie put an arm around her and just leaned on her shoulders.
"It's okay..." they said, softly.
O
The following morning, Magnetite led the journey up the great mountain she spoke of; Stevonnie tailed beside her, asking questions about the planet and what its true purpose had been. Magnetite had answered them all patiently, of course.
"We hadn't known about it until it was already too late," Magnetite said, with a tired sigh, "Jet. She...was one of the lab technicians made to monitor the colony and the conditions of the gems. She didn't know. She was scared when it happened."
Stevonnie nodded sadly. "We all do stuff we don't mean when we're afraid."
"There are consequences to that, even then..." Magnetite explained, "You must understand. We all face those in the end, regardless of our intent."
"Then we make it better." Stevonnie replied. "We try to do good and that's what matters."
A soft sound froze both of them where they stood. Magnetite held up her staff and Stevonnie's shield appeared. At the sound of it, the gem fusion beside them looked up, eyes widening in a gasp of horror. She narrowly missed a corrupted topaz charging.
Stevonnie moved quickly, sword flashing and cutting through the gem. Her form was dispelled and Stevonnie bubbled the gemstone.
Magnetite's eyes focused on the shield with a new look that made Stevonnie immediately defensive.
"You...You're a Rose Quartz?" she whispered.
Stevonnie nodded hesitantly. "Kind of. It's a long story."
"You have a Rose Quartz shield!" Magnetite gestured to the shield, that quickly vanished. "No...you... You're HER! The Rebellion leader!" Her features twisted and she studied Stevonnie up and down in disbelief. "Fused...to a human!"
"Okay, let's just relax," Stevonnie urged, raising two hands.
"No!" Magnetite began to shout, her voice high with building rage, "I remember YOU were the reason we were bubbled! I managed to escape in time thanks to Nephrite, but YOU!" She pointed her staff at Stevonnie. "THIS WHOLE MESS WAS BECAUSE OF YOU!"
"No! No, listen!" Stevonnie tried to calm her, "Please!"
Magnetite's left eye began to bleed with red and Stevonnie saw it. Their eyes widened and they attempted to calm the gem fusion down.
"Magnetite, your eye - "
"SHUT UP!" Magnetite spat, her mouth spewing fleck of black tar. Her eyes wandered with panic. "White sent you here, didn't she? That's what's going on! You offer to free me, but this is a ruse to lure me back to her!"
"No!" Stevonnie shook their head frantically. "Magnetite, it's not true! If you just listen and calm - "
"LIAR!" Magentite shrieked, raising her staff. The end of it produced a long blade. "You... You don't deserve freedom! You don't deserve life! This is because if you! ALL OF MY FRIENDS hurt! Because of YOU! Now, you will remain here with us...where you BELONG!"
With that, she lunged for Stevonnie, blade flashing.
O
Stevonnie made an effort to keep away from the slash of the blade. They didn't want to hurt Magnetite and from the looks of things, wanted to stop her corruption before it got worse.
A duck and roll.
"Magnetite, you're corrupting!" they shouted, "Listen to me, please! I'm not your enemy!"
Magnetite's eyes were almost entirely red and she shoved her staff handle into Stevonnie's throat, edging them back against a tree. Stevonnie grunted with effort, struggling against the gem fusion. Magnetite glared at her, mouth soaked with black tar and eyes almost entirely red.
She blinked, her features contorting before smoothing out with pain. Voice returning to normal, she staggered back and held her head. "I...I'm so sorry..." she gasped, stumbling onto her knees. "I don't... I don't know what's wrong with me...! I've been...I've been fighting it all along and I..."
Stevonnie reached out, but Magnetite thrust a hand up. "No! Stay back!"
Stevonnie withered at the force of her shout, but looked up when they noticed several corruptions beginning to advance. They reached out to tug Magnetite's arm.
"Hurry! Hurry, they're coming!" they cried.
Magnetite didn't hear them. Her head began ringing at the sight of the corrupted gems advancing. She was pulled to her feet by Stevonnie and rushed up the hill. The sight of the base spurred Stevonnie on and they were almost through the door before Magnetite pushed them inside.
"Magnetite!" they shouted, horrified.
Magnetite smiled, blinking once to calm herself. "Go upstairs. The console. The password is...White, Yellow, Blue, Pink, White..."
"No!" Stevonnie shouted, "No!"
Just as they lunged to stop her, the door roared shut and Magnetite shot the handle, melting it down. She turned, just in time to face the corruptions running at full speed toward her. Among them were the Ruby and Nephrite.
"Hey, Nephrite..." she mumbled, with a sorrowful laugh.
She raised her staff and energy shots took out a few of the gems in poofs of smoke. Slowly, her mouth began to ooze with tar, her eyes bled a deep shade of red and her form flickered once. Twice.
She screamed at the charging gems, the haunting sound echoing through the planet.
O
Stevonnie had slowly made their way up a flight of stairs, leaning against the wall the entire time. They passed another mural of White Diamond and paused, wearily staring up at it.
"Is this what you wanted...?" they moaned, voice breaking. "Was this the plan?"
They didn't know why they spoke. Who would answer? They were alone now. Dazed from what had happened, they struggled up the long flight of stairs until they reached the main chamber. Numb, but still determined to get home, they looked around.
"This is just like the Moon Base orbiting Earth." Stevonnie said.
They noticed a console and climbed up to it. There were symbols of the Diamond Authority. They recalled Magnetite's words about the password. Stevonnie pressed the diamond buttons in that order and a screen lit up.
"Oh!" Stevonnie looked relieved. They swiped until they spotted Lars' ship. "His ship! Finally!"
Lars looked frantic and worried. "Keep searching!" he shouted. "We're not giving up on them, no matter what!"
Stevonnie waved their arms. "Lars! Hey Lars! Hey!"
Lars looked at the screen now, eyes widening in relief. "There you are! We've been looking all over for you!" he exclaimed.
Stevonnie sighed long, slouching in the seat. "Oh my gosh Lars, it's so good to see you!"
Lars looked at one of the Off-Colors. "Send cords to their signal!" He looked back at Stevonnie with a smile now. "It's good to see you too."
After waiting a few minutes, the Sun Incinerator was hovering over the glass dome. Lars brought Stevonnie on board and they were ready to leave, but Stevonnie stopped them.
"Wait, there's something we need to do, first." they said.
Rhodonite looked worried. "What? Haven't you been on this planet long enough?"
Stevonnie shook their head. "Please. I just have a promise to keep."
So hours were spent dispelling all the corrupted gems on the colony; all that they could find and save. The last one was Magnetite, fully corrupted as a creature of teeth and claws. Stevonnie watched the corrupted gem with sorrow.
"I'm sorry..." they said, softly.
They swung their sword moments as the gem charged. Magnetite was dispelled and safely bubbled away. Lars watched the scene in silence, uncertain of what to say for a while. When Stevonnie turned, he noticed the tears in their eyes.
"Hey, we should get you home." he said, quietly.
Stevonnie nodded, sniffling once. "Yeah...I think I'm ready to go home."
They left White Diamond's former colony, but Stevonnie couldn't stop thinking on the message that Magnetite had left them with.
"There are consequences to that, even then. You must understand. We all face those in the end, regardless of our intent."
O
Note - I thought Magnetite could be voiced by Sara Coates, who voiced Marguerite Baker in RE:7.
Magnetite is a mineral and one of the main iron ores. With the chemical formula Fe3O4, it is one of the oxides of iron. Magnetite is ferrimagnetic; it is attracted to a magnet and can be magnetized to become a permanent magnet itself. This also took inspiration from 28 Weeks Later.
The ending was inspired by Donny Hathaway's "Someday We'll All Be Free."