We lost...
We. Lost!
...We lost..
Those were the only two words that repeated in Connie's mind. Two words, six letters, with the fate of the entire world buried within them.
It didn't matter what tactics they could have used, how much training they could have had, how much hope they could have believed in. They were outnumbered, under-equipped and, in her case, inexperienced.
She could still remembered, so vividly, how it all played out.
She refused to not stand her ground. Even as Steven begged her to run, to save herself, she refused. She, instead, let out a war cry and charged straight into Homeworld's army. But she was a human in a war with super powered gems.
She only lasted five minutes.
Now she was here. Dressed in the same clothes Steven wore when he came back from space. Laying down, blankly gazing up at the fake sky, within the same zoo that Steven told her about when he came back to Earth. Only this time, there was no going back to Earth.
She wondered if there even was still an Earth.
That was probably the first ounce of semi-positive thinking she'd had in weeks.
"We lost..." She repeated for the countless time. As if to remind herself why she hadn't had a single positive thought in weeks.
Anyone who looked at her could only feel pity. What was once a strong, happy pre-teen with the entire world ahead of her, now held the same demeanor of a shriveled up war veteran looking at their life with nothing but regret.
"It's time to stop and smell the flowers." A motherly voice kindly insisted from her earrings.
Connie felt compelled to rip off her earrings and crush them under her foot. But she had no motivation for that at this point. Just like how she had no motivation to do anything at this point. It was only on days long since passed that she was able to delude herself enough into thinking that everything was fine that she participated, though halfheartedly, in the Zooman activities.
"Is that all I am now? A zoo animal?"
She briefly laughed to herself. It was the first time, in a long time, that she said something other than the painfully obvious.
And once again, as if to realign the universe, she reminded herself of the grim, meaninglessness that was her life now.
"We. Lost!" She said, this time angrily. Emphasized by her slamming her fists against the ground.
Anger. Another feeling she hadn't felt in a long time. But this time she could actually remember the last time she felt this way. It was only just briefly after she had woken up within the zoo. Anger for losing. Anger about what likely happened to the Earth. Anger for all the possible, terrible, things Homeworld could have done to the inhabitants not chosen to live the rest of their lives in the zoo. Anger for being so weak that she couldn't protect...
...Steven.
...
Sadness...oh yeah, that was a thing. That came right at the peak of her anger, and forced it to leave. She remember the many days spent just crying every ounce of water out of her system. And the nights spent softly sniffling herself to sleep. No matter how much consolation she received from the fellow inhabitants, or even the Amethyst watching over them, she just kept on crying.
She only, vaguely, remembered the day she stopped crying.
Yes, it was the same day she started endlessly repeating the redundant phrase.
"...We lost..."
Just as that train of thought was about to return to it's never ending schedule, she felt a shadow suddenly fall over her.
"Hey kiddo. I was told that I had a sad human to deal with."
As said before, the Amethyst were the ones watching over the zoo inhabitants. Most of them sounded exactly like, with minor differences in pitch or tone. But this one sounded unique out of all she had heard before.
Curiosity took over, and she actually reacted to what this one was saying. She sat up, just to get a good look to confirm, or deny, her suspicion.
This Amethyst had all too familiar hues of purple she had known and loved. Same height, same playful grin, the only thing different being being that she wore the standard diamond uniform all the other Amethyst wore.
"Amethyst?" She asked, just to make sure.
"Who else?" Amethyst replied with a wink.
Joy. That was the emotion she had gone the longest without. And now it came crashing back with an overwhelming euphoria.
"Amethyst! You're okay!" Connie cried as she sprang up and wrapped her arms around Amethyst's neck.
"Yeah, somehow the other Amethyst managed to convince Blue-D that I was worth something. Seeing how the rest of them came from the Earth too, and I never fought in the war. So yeah...I got to stay...lucky me."
At the end of her sentence, Amethyst's voice had fallen to a depressed tone. But Connie didn't notice. The suddenly elation of one of her friends still being alive put her in a high. A high she felt desperate to hold onto. So desperate that she asked what, she should have known, wouldn't result in a favorable answer for her.
"Where are the others? Are they okay too?"
Amethyst gave her a solemn look, and Connie was immediately knocked down from her high.
Regret...that was a common feeling, but now it had taken on a new light. Shined ever more brighter by Amethyst sitting on the ground and staring at it. Connie sat back down with her. Hesitant, yet eager to learn any new information.
Amethyst scratched the back of her head. A ruse that Connie knew she was using to avoid eye contact.
"Garnet...well I shouldn't say her...Ruby was shattered immediately. Sapphire had the choice of either being shattered or rejoining Blue Diamond's court. And you know which one she chose."
Connie said nothing, but gave a visible flinch, so Amethyst continued.
"Pearl," She paused to blow a breath of air, "Since she was closest to Rose she was interrogated like crazy."
Amethyst paused again and closed her eyes. Slightly shaking her as if she had witnessed it. Even though it was second hand knowledge.
"They did some bad stuff to try and get her to talk. But she stayed strong."
For a brief, solitary, moment Connie saw a bit of hope and pride mixed together in Amethyst's eyes. But it went as soon as it came.
"Eventually they went too far, and she ended up being shattered before they could get anything out of her."
Connie tried not to imagine how exactly those two scenarios played out. Ruby and Sapphire's gem shards falling into a pile together, as if they were still together even in death. And Pearl, writhing and screaming in an endless, agonizing, torture until death decided to spare her.
Connie forced those thoughts out of her head and forced herself to refocus on what else Amethyst had to say. There was a pause though, as if Amethyst was trying to change her next sentence before it would slip out.
"And the Earth..." She quickly continued.
Connie's head hung low. "The Earth was destroyed. I know."
"Oh no, the Earth's still there."
Her head snapped back up. "What?"
"It's just being used as one giant kindergarten now. Homeworld's low on materials, so they kinda have to take what they can get."
"They've even used humans as labor for awhile. Until they died from exhaustion, starvation, dehydration...you get the point. They're using what Earth has to the last drop. And when the Earth is all used up, they'll work to forcibly awaken the Cluster before leaving it, and the Earth to rot."
Connie hugged herself, as she couldn't help but to tremble. So many memories from Earth, all the history and stories it held, soon to be lost forever. The thought of her family, and her remaining friends forced to work to the bone while they slowly died off. Died off while she lived on in this 'paradise'.
Died off because she failed to save their home.
Then came the thought that the two were consciously, and subconsciously, avoiding.
"Is Steven okay?" Connie suddenly asked.
Amethyst paused, then bit her lip. Her hair covering her eyes as she turned away.
"I...don't think you wanna know."
"Tell me!" Connie insisted.
Amethyst still didn't answer. Connie sat on her knees to scoot in closer as she continued to pry.
"Amethyst, please tell me he's okay!"
Finally, Amethyst let out a long sigh before looking back at Connie. Her eyes glossy from tears yet to fall.
"Do you really want me to lie to you?"
Connie's face fell into a petrified shock. Her eyes welled up with tears as she felt...nothing.
No Anger. No Sadness. No...nothing. She just sat there, vacantly staring off while blinking to let the tears flow.
Amethyst said something. Maybe it was an attempt to get Connie's attention, or some other bad news. But Connie couldn't hear her anymore. Neither could she hear the soft voice from her earrings telling her to do the next task.
Connie didn't even react when Amethyst pulled her into a hug as a way of comfort for the both of them. Completely detached from her surrounding while the same two words repeated in her mind. The same two words, six letters, with even more weight added to their meaning.
We lost...
We. Lost!
...We lost...