Deliberate Creation

A Story by Pearlapis-for-the-Ages

Chapter 1:

Lonely Rivulet

The feeling of regenerating was one that many gems relished. The feeling of air finally meeting their body after what often felt like a small eternity, the ability to talk, move, and act, not to mention finally having someone else to converse with, it was surely something any sane gem should look forward to. To be fair, Lapis Lazuli wasn't exactly sure she was completely sane at the moment, repeatedly being forced to relinquish their physical form would do that to a gem. She had lost count of how many times she had tried to escape, of how many times that she told them the complete and honest truth, and ultimately how many times she had been told that she had to be lying. The worst part of this whole ordeal, however, was the lack of any water sources. She hadn't even felt any when the door was opened, and the lack of connection to any liquid tore at her very being. It caused her more pain than she had ever known, and now she just wanted to get out of this place.

This place had been her housing for what she assumed was many thousands of years, but she really couldn't be sure. Not that it mattered, of course, as the only gems she actually cared about were herself and the Blue Diamond. That wasn't to say she didn't like other gems, but when one is literally made to be a spy, one tends to 'like' a hell of a lot of gems. It goes along with getting to the places one needs to be, and favors are always helpful. The thought had crossed her mind more than once that she should probably have called upon a few more favors during her last outing, as getting caught was rather unbecoming of a harbinger of a Diamond. Lapis let out a sigh, she was probably already forgotten by most if not all the court, as a principal they tended to recycle 'friends' and 'allies' rather quickly, such was the way of things.

Right now all she had to do was wait for another opening and hope she was wrong about the court.

The door opened an indeterminately long amount of time later, causing her to tense, but when she looked up she saw that the only one that entered was a simple pearl. There was no doubt in Lapis' mind that the gem was a servant, as her uniform lacked any visible colors or shapes, meaning that she had absolutely no status in any gem court, homeworld or not. Lapis rolled her eyes and held her hands out towards the gem, expecting that those that who were keeping her trapped probably just sent the pearl here to refasten the chains that held her when she wasn't busy regenerating. The pearl flinched in turn at the sudden moment and Lapis smirked, she was a harbinger of the Blue Diamond, after all. The court of the Blue Diamond was often known for their vicious, swift hand to hand combat, emanating from the widespread lack of ranged weapons in the Blue court. This pearl was probably scared half to death, and Lapis was going to take advantage of it, maybe she could get some answers.

"How long has it been since my last regeneration?" Lapis demanded, taking a step closer, careful not to walk into view of the window affixed to the now closed door. When the pearl didn't respond she tried again, agitation building on the edge of her voice. "How long has it been?! Do you know anything, or are you just as useless as the imbeciles you serve under?" At this the pearl perked up, and seemed to take a moment to gather her strength and courage before answering.

"I'm not exactly sure, do you know what year you last retreated into your gem?" she said, her voice not wavering for a second, much to the surprise of Lapis. She also found it hilarious when the pearl stood up a bit taller, and it brought a small smile to her face. She would love to have a pearl so loyal to her that she would try to seem equal to a high ranking noble just to protect her. That would be quite endearing.

"It was around 230000 E.B.C. Why do you ask?" Lapis was starting to become confused, as years rarely mattered to gems. For a fellow member of her species to ask her for an exact year could only be a herald for unpleasant things to come. This feeling was reinforced as the pearl gasped. This gasp wasn't the kind that happened when one was surprised by an oversight in a plan, or when one discovered a small disaster. This was the type of gasp that only came at the sight or realization of a great travesty. Lapis suddenly felt extremely out of sorts.

"I h-hate to t-tell you this, but you've been in your gem for over 400 millennia," the pearl said, looking away for Lapis in what was most definitely fear. Lapis simply collapsed, her newly constructed body giving out as she fell into a heap and began sobbing. She didn't even have the coordination to curl up, and she just layed there. That was long for even gems, in fact, it was too long. This pearl had to be lying, this had to be some game that the ones holding her here had made up to drive her into giving them the 'secrets' they thought she had. That revelation fueling her, Lapis stood and turned her eyes to the pearl, they were going to have some words.

Pearl was unimaginably uncomfortable at the moment, not only had the only other occupant of the room just collapsed into incomprehensible sobs, but she also had to deal with the fact that she wasn't alone. She was told when she was sent here to grab any gems from the cells in this prison, and was also told not to expect any resistance. This was resistance in Pearl's book, at the very least. Then the gem in front of her suddenly pulled herself together and lunged at Pearl. Eyes widening, she sidestepped, impressed by the speed of the attack and its ferocity. Then came another punch, and another. Pearl dodged the best she could, but the eventuality of being cornered was one she aware of, so she started leading the other gem towards the door.

Then she realized it had closed behind her, and that it opened into the room. The sensation of choking wasn't exactly soothing, and Pearl made that as clear as possible, flailing her limbs in every direction and trying to loosen the vice grip that had imprisoned her neck. Then her assailant spoke, her voice smooth and deadly, like an unexpected undercurrent.

"I am Harbinger Lapis Lazuli, penultimate confidant and right hand of the Blue Diamond, do you really think your cheap tricks will work on me?! Do you think that just because you are not one of the ones that imprisoned me here that I won't destroy you for getting in my way?!" the gem screamed. Pearl tried to answer, but she couldn't make a sound. The act of choking a gem was ultimately futile, for gems didn't need to breath to live, but it was often just used as a way to shut someone up. It was damn effective, too. Lapis rolled her eyes and let Pearl fall to the ground, much to the gems relief. Recovering from the callous hold, Pearl stood and proudly looked the other gem in the eyes.

"I am Harbinger Pearl, penultimate confidant of Rose Quartz, and future right hand of the court of Earth. I'm not trying to trick you, in fact I'm here to free you, but if I have to fight you I will," Pearl responded in kind, readying her weapon. She was sure that if she held Lapis off long enough it would prompt her friends to come and find her. What Lapis actually did, however, was start laughing. Or was it crying? Pearl couldn't tell, but she decided that enough was enough. "I really should be going, I have a mission to complete, and recovering the gems in these cells is a large part of it. Come along if you want out of here. Otherwise you'll be stuck here for who knows how much longer."

Pearl knew she was taking a risk here, as gems trapped in a state of regeneration for too long were often known to be, well, not exactly sane. Lapis, however, seemed to be at least mostly capable, and didn't seem to be outwardly crazy. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. Just then, Lapis looked directly at her, a glint of mischief evident in her eyes.

"I thought you'd never ask."