A/N: Wrote this piece a while back, but never got around to posting it. It's fairly short, but It should provide some more context. On another note, all the stories I write are interconnected; They're all in the same AU, in the same timeline. Feedback welcome, help me better my shitty writing!
. . . . . .
He felt the ground tremble as the fate of Arcadia was sealed.
The Glassing had commenced, and with the planet's fleet scattered throughout the galaxy, there was no way to stop the utter annihilation of the blue ball.
Ulysses, unable to move any longer, could only watch as the celestial beams of light shot through the lower atmosphere and obliterated the earth beneath it.
He felt hollow; whether it was due to the heavy feeling of despair, or the massive amounts of blood escaping his hole-riddled body, he could not tell.
Gritting his teeth, he managed to shift his head over on its side.
She was still there…unmoving.
There was no denying the fact that she was gone.
How did it come to this?
They were so close…So close…
"How does it feel, Ulysses?" he heard Herask.
He shut his eyes tight, unable to meet the gaze of the who spoke.
"How does it feel….to watch everything you care for…... everything you love…..die?' she asked, arm sweeping across the spectacle in front of her.
He didn't answer.
Instead, he focused on the other being standing beside Her.
"Pearl" he managed to croak out, "Why?"
Pearl dropped her gaze, unable to answer.
"The reason why is irrelevant now" the towering gem spoke, "all that matters is that it she has done it"
"Shut…. The fuck…up" Ulysses said forcefully.
The gem smirked. "Oh my….is the loss of your bodily fluid becoming too much to bear?" she mocked mercilessly. "Poor Ulysses…. Bound to life through his organic nature…. What a shame."
"It won't matter soon my darling…. We will have you…. Repurposed, once we arrive onboard the Andromeda."
"I'm… not going anywhere…. With you…. Yellow Diamond." Ulysses spat.
Yellow Diamond grinned. "Oh, my love…You don't have a choice."
He felt his mind slipping. His thoughts were becoming hazy, his vision, blurry. He looked back at the lifeless form of his partner on the ground, the despair he felt permeating throughout his body.
It wasn't supposed to end this way.
He had failed her.
But, at least part of their mission had been completed.
He could take some minimal comfort in that.
"Now then," the diamond spoke, "Pearl, tell Topaz to prep the ship for takeoff, and make sure she- "
A mechanical whir filled the air as the great diamond spoke.
At that moment, an enormous burst of light hit the ground next to the towering figure…. A second smashing into the same area not a moment later. Ulysses could feel the shockwave from the blast, earth and debris showering over him.
Ulysses' vision was failing, and only dark shapes filled his sight. He heard Yellow Diamond's commanding voice…. The sound of gunfire…. The concussive booms of explosives…. Shouts from an unidentifiable source….
Suddenly, a bright, white light consumed everything.
And Ulysses let himself slip into blissful oblivion.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The naiveté of the Arcadian Republic, along with its blind trust in other species, would prove to be its downfall
Authority records would show that the entire planet was cleansed, with every organic being on the planet being wiped out.
Wiped from these records, however, was the warping of two Arcadian vessels that managed to enter the planet's orbit, escaping Authority forces.
Yellow Diamond herself would oversee this purge, swearing an oath of secrecy to all gems taking part in the deletion of data.
The penalty for disobedience was immediate Shattering, along with any other gem who said party had informed.
Not a word was spoken.
Pearl, having served her purpose and promptly lauded, was returned to White Diamond.
Several millennia later, her actions would still haunt her, silently wishing that He had died on that planet, so that she could finally stop looking behind her and jumping at shadows.
She knew that he would come for her eventually.
However, in her time of greatest need, Pearl, driven to desperation would make a decision that would alter her path, and that of the Crystal Gems, forever.
. . . . .
A/N: If you haven't figured it out, This AU follows the "Pearl was White Diamonds" theory. Hope it wasn't too awful. Either way, more to follow!
Deuces my dudes.