Alpha and Omega
Author's Note: Yet another part of my Scary!White series, lol. I decided that the advice given to me regarding making this a single fic was probably a good idea, but I've come too far now. May as well keep this whole thing going. Takes place after Pale Moon and is inspired by the song "Run" by Leona Lewis.
So Steven returns home and finds information about the war with Homeworld. Including more about White Diamond and the most important battle on Earth involving her; the fight for the Alpha Kindergarten where the Rose Quartz's originated from.
"No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear."
― C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed
"It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets."
― Voltaire
By: VampireQueenAkasha
~O~
What a cold night.
Steven sat alone on the front porch, watching the stars. Connie had joined him after a moment and they sat in silence, thinking about everything that had happened on the planet. Magnetite. Those corrupted gems. All of it had been harrowing for the both of them. Connie hadn't wanted to leave him alone as Steven seemed unwilling to talk after all of it.
"Are you okay, Steven?" Connie asked.
"I have to be." Steven said, quietly. "I just...have to be."
Connie nodded her head. She couldn't stop thinking about the moon and the corrupted gem either. It was horrible what had happened to them. "Yeah..."
"Connie?" Pearl walked up to them. "Your mother called. She's on her way."
Connie exhaled and hesitated leaving Steven alone. "Thank you. I'll wait here until she shows."
Pearl looked at Steven and she seemed to contemplate talking to him, but Garnet called her back inside and she disappeared into the temple. The two gems were seen talking together and Pearl looked troubled by something, but Garnet raised one hand and eventually, Pearl nodded.
Connie watched them before looking at Steven. "I can call if you want me to." she offered.
Steven shook his head, smiling a little. "It's okay, Connie. I think I just need to sleep. I'm sure you need a good night's rest after all of that too."
Connie made a face. Well, that was putting it mildly.
Still, maybe sleep was something they definitely needed to prepare them for tomorrow. They could rest on it and talk about it later.
As Prinyanka picked Connie up, Steven wandered back into the temple and washed up for the night. He set his MP3 player for some soothing ocean music before lying in bed. M.C. Bear Bear was nearby and he pulled the stuffed bear close.
He struggled to find sleep for a few good minutes, but found himself unable to relax. The memories of White Diamond, the planet and its corrupted gems kept him wide awake.
"Steven."
He had just been ready to close his eyes before Garnet's voice had him sitting up. He looked down over the edge of the bed and found her watching him.
"Steven, come here." Garnet said, gently.
Steven frowned tiredly. "Why?"
"We need to talk." Garnet told him.
Steven sighed, climbed out of bed and walked down the steps to her. "I wasn't tired anyway," he said, quietly.
Garnet reached for his hand and Steven took it. She led him to the warp and Steven looked up at her curiously now. Garnet's features were grave, but sad. She seemed bothered by something and Steven had to know.
"Garnet?" he asked, "Are you okay?"
"We should have told you before," Garnet finally said, "About Rose. What happened. She wasn't just our leader, but she's your mother. It's your right to know." She looked down at the warp pad. "We're going to go there."
"Where?"
"Her Kindergarten."
O
Steven and Garnet warped to a place he'd never seen before.
A Kindergarten filled with enormous exit holes and towering rose-like structures; there were statues of Pink Diamond and even lions. Steven had never seen this place before, but it reminded him of Rose Quartz - his mother. This Kindergarten was larger than Prime and Beta combined. It also looked far more elaborate than anything they'd been made of.
Despite all of that, there were scorch marks that lined the walls. The further they advanced, the more dilapidated and ruined it looked.
Something bad had happened here. It gave him a familiar shudder he'd felt when he had been fused to Connie while they were alone in the tower.
"So...this is where my mom came from?" Steven asked.
Garnet nodded. "Yes. All the Rose Quartz's emerged from this Kindergarten. It was the first Pink Diamond had been here for." she explained. "More time and care was spent here before the war..." She hesitated and an unsettled tone filled her voice now. "Before White Diamond destroyed it."
"What?" Steven looked surprised, catching her tone now. "She destroyed it? Why?"
"After..." Garnet hesitated again. "After what became of Pink Diamond, that was the turning point for her. Remember what she was like on Homeworld, Steven. It was worse then. That's why I'm telling you this; so you know what to do when the time comes."
"What are you talking about?"
Garnet didn't answer. She looked toward a bed of white crystals and approached, running her hand over it. Steven followed her and touched it too. He winced and drew his hand back.
"It's hot!" he exclaimed.
"Yes." Garnet replied. "They say her fire always burns. It's magnified by her rage...her madness. That's why we were so afraid. The fact that you got home alive and away from her clutches... I don't want to think what she could have done."
Steven shuddered. Neither did he.
"There was a great battle here." Garnet continued, "The Battle for Alpha. Lives were lost during this fight. Gems...shattered. So many gems..."
"You were there?" Steven asked.
Garnet nodded sadly. She raised two hands, producing a holographic memory from her gems. Steven watched the memory unfold, uncertain of what he would see.
O
[Gem War]
"It'll work!"
"Bismuth, this is madness! We don't even have Rose with us! What if we fail?"
"We won't!"
Garnet couldn't hear the discussion that night. She had been positioned carefully among the rocks of the Kindergarten, beside a peridot. She had been warning them earlier about this, but Bismuth was determined. She wanted to have it over.
"Look, we've got Garnet on our side!" Bismuth said, with a smile. She gestured to the fusion. "I got faith in all of us!"
There were two amethyst's watching the end of the Kindergarten. They whispered cautiously to one another, unsettled by the eerie silence.
"We should go back." the first one suggested.
The other watched the distance cautiously. "No. They need us here. Just in case she shows." she reminded her, "Just hold steady."
Something changed in the air; it was an unsettling wash of fear that immediately brought the two gems on guard. They tensed, their spears producing in their hands. Warily, they watched the distance before hearing the menacing sounds of heels approaching.
CLACK, CLACK, CLACK...
The two watched with wide eyed as White Diamond rounded the corner, body radiating with fire. She stood there, not looking at them at first. The two gems held their breath, horrified by the sight of her. They had known she would show, given Garnet's vision, but they had not been prepared for it.
Finally, White slowly looked in their direction and they seized at the wide-eyed, almost blank look on her face. It was like staring at a lifeless doll.
Then, a grin stretched across her face. So sudden. So eerie and so very frightening. The two amethyst's were frozen, unable to move as she slowly walked up to them. In that moment, they forgot what they were supposed to do.
Garnet looked up sharply at the sounds of screams. "She's here!"
Several gems scattered as White rounded the corner, armed with a long, dangerous scythe. The blade glinted ominously in the light of the moon. Two amethyt's fused and raised their trident-like weapon, unleashing blasts of energy at the Diamond.
White Diamond's cloak hummed with electricity and she began to spin on her heels, deflecting each shot with expert precision. The fusion continued to fire in a desperate attempt to wound her before White Diamond swung her scythe through her form.
The others watched in horrified silence as the amethyt's face suddenly went slack in pain. She looked down at her body as it began to flicker with light, crackling as if she were a television gone static. Garnet could only stare in muted shock as the gem began to crumble apart like glass.
White Diamond looked up at the sight of fused gems crouched on top of the Kindergarten. Several of them were armed with whips. They jumped down to surround her and their weapons cracked through the air, wrapping around White's wrists several times. Another whip wrapped tightly around her throat and the wide-eyed Diamond grunted lowly.
Garnet watched with amazement as the Diamond struggled to move forward, held back by a multitude of gem fusions. Bismuth smirked with pride. She elbowed Garnet once.
"See? Nothing to worry about!" she assured her.
White continued to struggle for a few moments, her features twisted with effort. Then, she looked straight at Bismuth, all that struggle vanishing immediately from her face. What came next was an almost bored flat look that startled all of them there.
White jerked her left arm and the force sent the fusion holding her flying through the air. The others watched in horror as White swung her arm with a wicked grin, sending the fusion smashing into the other that held her down. It toppled them viciously to the ground.
But it didn't stop there; White continued to throw the fusion around; she was tossed into walls before finally thrown flat to the ground with enough force to crack the earth below. Smoke shot up and the other gems were shielding their eyes from it.
The gem thrown into the ground laid there in a daze, shaken and unable to move. A black heel pressed into her and she groaned in pain. White leered down at her before grinning, raising her heel and bringing it down on the gem.
Her form was dispelled, but as soon as the smoke cleared, they saw that wasn't the case; glittering shards littered beneath White Diamond's heel. She calmly regarded the sight, shaking her head and not acknowledging the scream from one of the rebellion.
Garnet and Bismuth looked horrified by the sight.
"We need to warn Rose!" Garnet shuddered, "We need to go!"
Bismuth looked up as several more gems fused together; a combination of jaspers wielding an enormous axe. The fusion looked down at them, speaking loudly.
"Go! We'll hold her off for as long as we can!" she said.
Bismuth shook her head. "No way! She'll shatter you!"
"Don't worry about us. You need to go, now!" the jasper fusion told her,"We'll hold her back while you get to Rose. This is our purpose. What we're made for. We're ready. We're ready to die if it means protecting this planet from the likes of White Diamond."
White smiled now, delight ringing out of her stoic voice. "Silly creature. When I'm finished with you. You're going to wish that's all I did."
The jasper fusion gave a fierce roar, charging with her axe. White's scythe appeared in her hand once more and collided with the axe; she was forced back several paces, her heels dragging in the dirt. The other gems watched the sight with a mixture of awe and unease, but realized that she was right; they had to warn Rose that White Diamond was here on Earth.
They turned and ran, leaving White and the jasper fusion alone.
O
The jasper fusion swung her axe with a loud, powerful call of battle; it was strong, carrying through the great canyon of the Alpha Kindergarten. White caught the attack with her scythe. They struggled for dominance, swinging both weapons back and forth.
White's smiles were far too empty during the entire fight; she seemed almost content, as if in a dream-like trance. It was strange, eerie and a little disquieting, but the jasper fusion would not give up her fight just yet.
With a fierce grunt, she was inched back against the wall from White's strength; the blade of her scythe drew closer and closer to her eye. The jasper fusion grunted with all her strength, her secondary pair of arms catching White's scythe handle.
The Diamond blinked, watching as the axe from the first pair of arms raised up. She recoiled from the swing and was forced back several paces. When the jasper fusion swung her axe up, White's scythe caught the attack and the weapon was sent flying from her hands.
It spun end-over-end through the air before embedding itself into the ground.
The jasper fusion lunged at White before she could recover; slamming the Diamond into her midsection and knocking her to the ground. She raised one of her fists and brought it down, but White calmly turned her head to one side to avoid the punch.
Another punch struck White directly in the mouth. She hadn't moved from the blow this time; grinning, she took punch after punch before seizing one of the many arms.
The jasper fusion attempted to grapple with her, but White rolled, kicking out her leg in the fusion's midsection, knocking her viciously back several yards away. Behind her waited Bismuth at the top of the canyon.
"Hey!" the gem yelled, "We're going to Rose. But we'll be back for you, I promise!"
Garnet shook her head as Bismuth started to depart. "Bismuth, what I saw - "
"It's like Rose says, Garnet," Bismuth assured her, "Fate can be changed. We know it. You said yourself that we win the war! And we can win...with the Breaking Point."
Garnet recalled Bismuth discussing it in private with her before. She had developed a weapon sure to win the war against Homeworld. All she had to do was pitch the idea to Rose and it would all be over. She had the utmost confidence in it.
"Alright..." Garnet said, smiling.
Below them, the jasper fusion tensed, watching as White slowly rose to her feet. "She's not fast..." she said, softly, "A Diamond may be big, but on this battlefield, we're made for war."
Eyes widening, the jasper fusion gave a shocked gasp when White surging through the canyon at top speeds; she was coming right toward her with wide, manic eyes. Despite her sheer size, White was faster than the fusion belived.
"Stars, no...!" she gasped out.
White dove forward, scythe appearing in her hands once again. She swung the blade, mere seconds as the jasper fusion produced her axe. The weapons colliding knocked her flat onto her back with White crouched over her. Sprays of fire flew from her weapon, scorching the ground around them.
"How much worse do you want this to get?" she asked, pushing her blade harder, bringing it inches from the jasper's face once more. Her voice rang out with near delight. "When I bring ruin to this Rebellion, all you will know is suffering. Just as she did."
The fusion drove her elbow into White's back, struggling to dislodge her. They grappled for dominance for several moments and the jasper managed to get White's head in a fierce lock in her arm. She kicked out her legs, slamming the Diamond into the ground.
The jasper fusion grinned triumphantly down at her. "Hah! See if you can get your head out of this one!"
White grunted, one hand digging deep grooves into the dirt. The other grabbed at the arm around her neck. She clenched her teeth, opened her mouth and let out a scream that nearly shook the very air and canyon around them.
The powerful, banshee-like wail carried for miles, crippling gems from Homeworld and Rebels alike; they buckled to the ground, holding their ears in agony. The sound practically cut through their forms, drawing the worst possible pain imaginable.
The jasper fusion winced, her secondary arms holding her ears.
When White finished screaming, the fusion scowled down at her. "What was that?" she hissed, with an unsettled smile. "Calling for help? It won't work! Homeworld is done and so are you!"
No response from White.
The jasper fusion scoffed. "At a loss for words all of a sudden, diamond?" she sneered.
White's body began to vibrate and it took a moment to realize she was laughing. Gradual building, sinister laughter echoed from her. The jasper fusion looked down, confused by the sound and apprehensive.
White grinned, cackling long and loud; the noise was so foreign on her that the jasper fusion didn't know what to make of it. She had never heard a Diamond laugh that way before. The blaze from White's fire began to burn brighter. Hotter. Hotter than anything the jasper had endured.
"Come, fusion; join me in the flames..." White suddenly whispered, with a synthetic giggle.
She began to crawl her way toward the fire, dragging the fusion with her. The jasper fusion looked up with dread, struggling to pull White back from the blaze, but the Diamond was stronger; she had been toying with her the entire time.
"No, stop!" she shouted.
"Why?" White laughed, gleeful. She continued to crawl. "Don't you want to feel as I do? Don't you want to see what I see?"
The fire engulfed them both; White was unharmed by it, but the jasper fusion began to sweat and feel the effects of it. She gritted her teeth, groaning out in pain.
"Always..." White murmured, with a sound sadness, "It's always the same..."
The fusion released White and jumped from the fire, stumbling several times in the dirt. She had been singed almost completely; her uniform was burned and her hair scorched. She staggered back, watching as White slowly rose from the blaze, her eyes glowing. It gave her a frightening appearance, like that of a primordial being.
The jasper fusion staggered back as White stepped out of the fire, retrieving her scythe. The fusion looked down, horrified to see her hand beginning to crystalize from being exposed to the flames. She cried out, clawing uselessly at it as White loomed over her.
"Wh-What is this?" the fusion shrieked. "What's happening to me?"
White smiled down at her. "Don't worry. I will deliver you soon enough. But I must ask one question before I do..."
The fusion shuddered in agony, looking up at her with confusion.
"Was all your suffering worth it?" White asked, with a smile. "Was it everything you'd wanted? Was SHE everything you wanted?"
"Please..." the fusion begged, realizing that this was a worse fate than she believed White to be capable of; it hurt so much, "Have mercy!"
White calmly placed one of her heels into the fusion's chest and raised her scythe high; the act silhouetted her against the flames and moon. Her next word was simple, but carried all the weight of her grief and wrath that could crumble whole armies.
"No."
With that final word, she brought her scythe down.
O
Steven couldn't stop thinking about what he'd seen. When he and Garnet had returned home, she'd spent time telling him about how White couldn't be reasoned with; there was nothing they could do to change her mind. He knew that. Being on Homeworld was a good enough example based on what he'd seen from her.
Garnet had also been shaken about what had happened. She blamed herself for the loss of gem life during the Battle for Alpha.
"It wasn't your fault, Garnet." Steven tried to offer comfort.
Garnet shut her eyes, a sorrowful look touching her face now. "I should have done more for them. I was the one who saw White Diamond in my future vision."
Steven shook his head and put his arms around her to comfort her. "Garnet. I don't think they blame you. I don't blame you."
"I just..." Garnet hesitated. "I had to show you. You had to know what we're going to be up against. I know it wasn't pleasant for you to watch, but you are a Crystal Gem. We can't hide anything from you anymore. Especially now."
"Thanks, Garnet."
And he'd meant it.
It was good to visit the Alpha Kindergarten to see where his mother had come from, regardless of the past that he'd been shown. It also explained what had happened to it and why White had been there to destroy what was left.
It made sleeping a little difficult that night; he was left with new information, and yet, more questions than he had before.
He slowly shut his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
O
In his dreams, Steven found himself standing back in the canyon of the Alpha Kindergarten. Whispers resonated around him, but with words he couldn't quite make out. He made his way deeper into the Kindergarten and heard a soft, melodical weeping.
Steven frowned, and followed the sound until he froze at the center of the Kindergarten, his eyes widening.
White Diamond was there, kneeling with her back to him. Her hands clutched her face and she was...crying? Steven blinked, shocked by the sight. He wasn't sure what else to do but watch.
White suddenly stopped crying; two long-nailed hands slowly ran through her spiked hair. She took a deep breath and let it out through her nose. Steven took a step back and his heel kicked at a rock.
Eyes widened. Diamond-irises narrowed.
Steven swallowed thickly and backed away as White looked over her shoulder to him. Her face was streaked with tears. Yet...she didn't seem like the same Diamond who had attacked him and Lars on Homeworld. Instead, she just looked tired.
"Uh..." Steven tried.
White smiled broadly at him. "Have you come to surrender?"
"No." Steven said, shaking his head. "I don't - I won't surrender."
A quiet chuckle. "I know. I know you won't. Such is your way, little quartz. Such as you've always been. That was how she made you to be." She tilted her head, studying him. "Neither will I. I will never stop until the whole of the Rebellion lies shattered in the earth. I've waited five thousand years. It is but a twinkle in the eye of a Diamond."
Steven held his gaze strong. "I can wait too."
White smiled, as if delighted by the notion. "And what of your friends? Your broken legion of toy soldiers? Can they wait as well?"
"They have nothing to do with this!"
White laughed now, her synthetic voice ringing out in a discordant manner. The thought seemed to give her great amusement and Steven withered a little at her laughter. It sounded so delighted, so playful that it gave him chills.
"Ignorant thing. How easily you forget," she said.
She raised her hand and white fire blossomed around her palm, burning bright enough to hurt Steven's eyes. He shielded a hand over them, wincing at the sight. When the light dimmed but a little, he watched a tiny flame figure dance in White's palm. She seemed to watch it with a mixture of awe and sadness.
"We all make choices for the good of a whole," she said, with a quiet whisper, "And we will eventually pay for them in time. That's a thing we share, little quartz."
She crushed the fiery being with a single clench of her fist.
"No!" Steven snapped, waving his hand. "I'm nothing like you!"
White suddenly grinned and her voice was light, eerie. "Are you afraid?" she asked.
When she received no answer, she turned and rose, towering over Steven. "You only make it worse for them the longer you wait," she said, her synthetic voice ringing with amusement. "It's all the same to me in the end, no matter how hard you fight."
Steven backed from her when she began to stalk toward him.
"Give them hope, Rose. Give them courage." White whispered, eyes nearly glowing, "I will take that from you first. And only when you're left alone, weeping over your fallen, misbegotten slaves will you have the right to be shattered."
"You can try, but I'll always be here! There will always be gems who will fight!" Steven shouted up at her, "You can say and do whatever you want, but as long as there are gems willing to stand up against you, there is always hope!"
The entire time he was speaking, White was quietly laughing, as if she took more amusement in the speech than anything else. She backed away slowly into the shadows.
"I hope so Rose. I truly do." she whispered, malevolently.
With a sinister chuckle, she vanished into the dark.
O
Steven awoke in the middle of the night and wandered outside to the front porch. He looked up toward the stars and thought about what had happened. What would eventually happen.
The door opened and Pearl stepped outside. "Steven? Are you alright?" she asked.
Steven sighed. "I couldn't sleep."
Pearl sat down beside him and put an arm on his shoulder for comfort.
"I'm sorry, Steven." she said, quietly.
Steven leaned against her and shut his eyes. He didn't say anything more for a while. When he opened his eyes and watched the stars once again, he thought of Lars and the Off-Colors, hoping they were okay. White Diamond made it clear what she wanted to do.
Meanwhile, Lars and the Off-Colors were drifting through space, relaxing from their recent experience on the planet of corruptions. They sat in a circle in the center of the ship and Lars gestured for them to have a meeting.
"We need to be careful," Lars told them all. "White Diamond is crazy. We've all seen what she's capable of on Homeworld. She'll catch us the minute she gets a chance. I don't want to imagine what she'd do to you guys if she does."
Rhodonite shuddered, holding herself. "I don't want to think about it." she mumbled.
"That's why we need to go to Earth." Lars assured them. "We'll be safe if we stick together. All of us."
The Rutile Twins smiled and looked at each other. "We trust you, Lars. We know you won't let us down." the left Rutile told him.
As they spoke, White was on Homeworld, watching various monitors in front of her. A single long finger scraped the edge of her throne. She observed the inside of the ship that housed the Off-Colors and Lars with a thoughtful smile.
Yes, she would let them hope.
And tear it from them.