The dark halls seemed to be tranquil, still. From the floors to the ceilings was filled with technology far beyond a human's capacity of imagination. Footsteps echoed in the distance, slightly rumbling as it grew closer, loose wires spiraling from the walls to the tiles on the floor would disrupt one's gaze to be a hidden sentry.
A slim, tall gem sprinted through the corridor, a small circular gadget clutched in her hand. She halted at two giant doors, waiting for them to split into a pin-wheel like motion before proceeding. This time, she treaded cautiously into the giant dome-like room. Six sentinels stood stationary on each sides of the small path which lead to a giant desk with a dashboard stretched across the counter, countless buttons, switches, and screens covering the latter. A large yellow gem was glancing down at a hologram that almost overtook her whole body span, swiping a few areas of the screen before looking up at the visitor. The projection folded away, dissipating into thin air.
"Pardon the interruption, Yellow Diamond." The gem's voice was a bit small, but her words quickly articulated, growing stronger. "I have received important data that you may want to see." She stepped forth, releasing the spherical object in her hand, watching as it defied gravity. A circular lens projected a screen on one of the flat walls while the gem herself had control of what was shown.
Yellow Diamond seemed silent, turning her chair to face the presentation. "It appears one of the cluster experiments has backfired on a certain planet." She started, tapping a few icons on the screen to give visuals. "As you can see, the radiation levels in the planet's core has drastically dropped, and it appears that some sort of outside object has tunneled its way towards the core, represented by this darker area—" She paused to highlight an area in which more colder colors formed a tube that led towards the core. "—so I could only assumed someone has tampered with the project."
Yellow Diamond only nodded her head. "And what planet is this?" She asked, her cold gaze settling on the technician. She gave a tiny squeak, sweating. "The planet is dubbed Earth, in that system called 'Sol' with the yellow dwarf star a few parsecs away."
The diamond pondered on it for a second. "Sounds familiar." She mumbled. "Go on." The other gem nodded, swiping a few items across the screen. "The main species on this planet would have not been able to invent such a tool to drill to the core, nor would they have the proper equipment. Although, I would like to point out something." She said, turning to the large gem. "Three gems were sent to this planet to investigate some.. 'commotion' and never returned." Turning to the screen again, she pulled up three profiles. One seemed to be a technician, another a warrior, and the final was some sort of elemental.
"A distress signal came from one of the ships that had traveled there, but we cannot get any contact with it." Yellow Diamond had an intrigued look on her face, but she wasn't interested in wasting her time on such a garbage planet anymore. "We will not do anything as of now. The time spared on this planet is now meaningless, and the ways of the galaxy will decide its own fate." She said, turning away, slowly waving her hand.
"You are di—" The diamond began, but was quickly interrupted. "Wait! Perhaps there is something more. I have gone over a few documents from a few thousand years ago. Earth belonged to a rebellion army. Their leader was none other than Rose Quartz." Yellow Diamond's eyes widened, the name even uttered was taboo, and she swiveled around to face her. The gem looked up at her, clearly startled. "My liege, have I said something wro—" The diamond cut her off.
"You are dismissed." She repeated in a sharper tone. The technician squeaked again, swatting at the sphere, grasping it. "Y-yes, of course. F-forgive me." She stuttered, but quickly left without saying another word. When the doors shut, her glare settled on the guards. "You." She made eye contact with the one on the farther end.
"Go and organize me a ship with a few escorts." She demanded, watching as they ran out of the room through the main entrance. She eyed another guard. "And you. Contact my representative. They shall take my place as I visit the rebel planet." They nodded, dashing out of the room. The metal door clunking as it shut rung through the silent room. "It's about time.." She rasped under her breath, reluctant to go back to her work, facing the large window behind her, surveying the view outside in silence.
The distinctive smell of maple forced Peridot to open her eyes. Already, she felt drool pooling in her mouth. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes and put her hand on the mattress. When the blanket slowly rolled off her shoulders, her light green skin made contact with the crisp air. She could already feel her nose getting cold, so she wrapped the blanket around her again to enjoy the warmth. Peridot knew the pancakes would probably be gone by the time she got up, but the warmth was better than food. Her basking did not last long, for another figure squirmed around beside her. Steven's head popped up from his pillow.
Without hesitation, the halfling rocketed from his place past Peridot, in which she emitted a shriek and fell out of bed and onto the cold floor. Hearing the temple door split and the thumping of footsteps across the wooden planks, it was too late. Amethyst was probably wolfing them down already. With a defeated sigh, the gem laid there on the floor.
Closing her eyes, she recollected on her first time she ate Earth food, perhaps a few months ago. It may have not been pancakes, but it was another breakfast food. Waffles. She never forgot the strange texture of maple syrup, or the way the substance flowed at a certain pace slower than water. It was sweet and warm… Much like the blankets.
Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt a hand gently touch her extended arm. Her eyes almost refused to open, but a shake forced them to. "Peridot, are you okay?" An elegant voice spoke. She looked up and saw the tall gem, Pearl, kneeling before her, a slight look of concern in her eyes.
The sight of the gem slightly made her shudder, her stomach slightly churning. "Yes, I'm fine, Pearl." Her cheeks flushed a green, and she broke eye-contact, adjusting her visors. Pearl also reminded Peridot of maple syrup. While she wasn't a liquid, her movements were slow and graceful. At first she was cold and bitter to the smaller gem, but when she warmed up to her, Peridot knew she was sweet, caring, and loyal.
Peridot slightly smiled at her stupid comparison, but she felt her weight lift as Pearl grabbed her from underneath her armpits, which caused her to keep her usual frown. She hated when she did this, treating her like a human infant. Scowling, the gem turned her head away as she raised her to face-level. "Peridot…" She whispered softly, but it was to no avail. "Peridot," she started again, "There's no more pancakes-" A small sigh from Peridot interrupted her briefly, "-but.. I can make one more with the little bit of pancake mix I have left."
The green gem's eyes glanced at Pearl, full of eagerness. "I assume that's a yes." She smiled, putting her down.
Peridot followed her down the stairs from the loft and toward the kitchen. Climbing onto one of the stools at the countertop, she waited for Pearl to finish the pancake. What felt like forever but was a few minutes, she placed a plate with an adequate-sized meal in front of Peridot. Wiping her drool away from her lips, the small gem began to eat. It was still strange trying to eat with the strange tools humans use to cut up and pick up food, but after using them a bit again, she got used to it.
The pancake was gone in a few minutes after it was put down, and Peridot looked up, chewing on the last bit, to see Pearl standing on the other side of the counter. She already had a napkin in her hand, and she reached over and dabbed her lips with it. Peridot swallowed the pancake and gave a dark glare at Pearl, but her height made her less intimidating to the taller gem. She blushed again and pushed her hand away, hopping off the stool. She walked toward the door, and Pearl cleared her throat. "Peridot, where are you going?"
"I'm going to go onto the beach."
"You'll need sunscreen."
"I'm fine. I'm going to be sitting in the shade." Peridot's voice had a slight hint of annoyance, and she did not spare a single look towards Pearl. She opened the front door and almost slammed it, irritatingly stomping off the porch and ambling toward a random shaded area. She mumbled various insults to herself, crawling underneath the edge of the porch and sitting there. She pulled her knees to her chest and stared pensively at the sand for a while.
When the door opened above her at sunset, she didn't snap away from her thoughts. Light steps trailed down the stairs. The creaking of the wood made Peridot look up. Shuffling out from underneath the house, she emerged from the darkness and raised to her feet. The tall gem was at the bottom of the stairs, searching for the smaller one.
Peridot walked over to her and waited for her to notice that she was there. Pearl turned around and almost knocked Peridot over as she lifted her leg to go back up the steps. "Oh… I didn't see you there." She said a bit awkwardly, standing straight again. "Dinner is ready." Peridot grimaced, crossing her arms. "I'm not hungry." She growled, biting back on insults and pushing her way past Pearl.
The tall gem's face was a bit crestfallen, and she didn't move. "I'm sorry." She murmured. Peridot halted, turning around with an unforgiving stare. "...You're sorry?" She rasped, clenching her fists. Pearl cringed at her tone, cowering. "You're sorry?!" She shouted, impulsively stomping her foot on the wooden board. "After the way you treated me?! You treated me like a human infant! I don't care how many generations you've lived through, but no matter what, your rank will always be lower than mine!" Pearl started to tear up, but Peridot's rage didn't give in. "I've been giving you hints and glares and the only thing you find it is cute. I'm not cute. I don't even get why you're doing this! You're not even my 'mother', so why the hell are you treating me like a child?!" The small gem was shaking with anger, ignoring the fact that Pearl was crying. A
fter standing there for a minute or two, the tall gem finally spoke. "I do this because I want you to be safe. I want you to be happy, and I'm sorry that I'm too obsessive." She gazed into Peridot's eyes. "I do this because I love you, Peridot-"
"Well I don't! You're.. You're not even a clod! You're beneath a clod! You're a defective lump of muddy slosh, Pearl!" Her voice strained from yelling, but seeing as Pearl had nothing more to say, she stormed off into the temple and locked herself in the bathroom. Curling up by the bathtub, Peridot began to sob, and she covered her face, wrapping the broken shower curtain around herself. The gem soon cried herself to sleep, tears staining her cheeks.
She woke up soon later, and it seemed to be daylight. Absent-mindedly, she left the bathroom. No one was in the house. Not even Steven. Stepping outside, daylight washed over her skin. The heat of the sun did not touch her, though. It was strange, but the gem decided it was just a cold day outside. The door opened, to Peridot's surprise, and she turned to face whoever exited the temple. It was Pearl. Peridot frowned, giving an intense glare.
The tall gem whispered to her. "Behind you." Tricked, Peridot turned around. Pearl already grabbed her shoulders from behind, and when Peridot looked forward, it seemed that the gem teleported. She was jerked backwards, arms crushing her waist. The sky tumbled around her, and she landed head-first into the sand. The tall gem had thrown her down, and released her.
Before the small gem had time to react, Pearl's weight landed on her stomach, making her quietly wheeze. Then, her hands cuffed around her throat and she began to throttle Peridot's neck. She could not elicit a simple yelp as her nails tore into her skin. Her head began to drum, and she blacked out for a moment before she sat up in a dark, cold room.
She was sweating, and her breath was heavy. Her eyes adjusting, she realized she was back in the temple's bathroom. Soon, Peridot felt the ground rumble. The walls shook violently, then from outside the room she heard glass shattering. Tossing the shower curtains aside, she tried to stand up. Her arms circled around as she tried to balance, but soon the shaking stopped. She turned and looked down, moving the curtains and grabbing her recording tape and stuffing it into the side of her jumpsuit.
Then, she bursted out of the door to see that the four other gems have already been disturbed by this. Steven was still in his pajamas, and his slippers seemed to be lazily put on. "What in the stars was that?" Peridot asked, rushing over to the gems. Amethyst, Pearl, and Steven all looked at Garnet for an answer. The silence broke a few moments later with a slight gasp from the fusion. "It's a Homeworld ship." She tried to say calmly, but a hint of worry was in her voice. "Steven needs to leave immediately." Her head turned towards Steven. "Go get Lion and get everyone out of here, Steven. We're counting on you." Steven nodded his head, sprinting out of the door, not bothering to change his clothes. "Crystal Gems, we defend the temple for our lives. For Rose Quartz. For the rebellion. We cannot let this sanctuary be destroyed!" They all nodded, and a few minutes later they all formed ranks outside, summoning their weapons. Peridot bared her fists and held onto a large shard of glass.
The hand-like ship quickly descended, the impact of the landing on the beach sent Peridot reeling back a bit and tumbling down. An orb emerged from the palm, rolling down its index finger. The orb parted. A tall, slender yellow gem and two Quartz warriors emerged from it. Peridot's eyes widened in shock, as did the others.
Garnet was the first to move. She gave a guttural battle cry, and began to charge at them, followed by Pearl and Amethyst. Peridot was not sure of what to do, and she cowered behind a small rock. The three homeworld gems did not move. Their hands raised, a single glove on each of their arm glowing, a yellow beam shooting from all three. It froze the Crystal Gems in place. "Where is the peridot?" The yellow one demanded. Peridot looked up from the rock, and stood up, collecting her strength. "Yellow Diamond." She said, marching over to her. Yellow Diamond's eyes locked onto the small gem. "Where are your limb enhancers, technician?"
"Lost, Yellow Diamond."
The slender gem smirked. "Citrine, please hand me your glove and fetch some spare limbs from the ship." One of the warriors removed the glove, which dropped Pearl for a moment. She tried to take the chance by leaping at Yellow Diamond with her spear. The glove was quickly slipped on, and the yellow gem froze Pearl inches from her face. She did nothing more to move her.
Citrine returned with a container, which had a strange rhombus shape. The warrior opened the case, and tapped an area on the wrists and heels a few times, the colors adjusting. "These limb enhancers can be yours again, Peridot..." The small gem walked over and put one on her arm, pulling her hand into place. The floating fingers at the end twitched and began to calibrate to her movements. Peridot grinned, slipping on the other limb enhancers, kicking at the sand happily.
Yellow Diamond was disgusted with her strange.. movements. "...But, since you've failed your mission, you must prove to me, to Homeworld, that you have not joined these… Imbeciles." Yellow Diamond took off one of the gloves, which released Pearl. "A servant." Before the tall gem could get up, Citrine pinned her. "The lowest class. Peridot, obey my orders or face certain fate. Destroy her." Yellow Diamond ordered.
Peridot was dumbfounded, and Pearl looked up in horror. Peridot trembled, her steps heavy over the sand, hesitant. "Did I stutter?" Yellow Diamond spoke harshly. "Destroy. Her." Peridot pointed one of the limb enhancers at Pearl, the fingers on the end turning into some sort of cannon. Garnet and Amethyst, silenced, could only move their eyes to watch. The small gem closed her eyes, focusing. A sphere of energy charged up in her hand.
Memories began to cloud her mind. The teamwork, the drill, the missions, the lessons, it has all led to this. A renewed life for Peridot… Void of fusions, void of runts, void of defectiveness. Void of personality. Pearl's image flashed through her mind, her sweet smile, her graceful movements, her laughter. It has turned to a horrified silence.
"What are you waiting for? SHATTER HER!" Yellow Diamond roared. A tear slid from Peridot's eye and stuck to her visor. "I'm sorry, Pearl…" She choked, whipping around to face her leader, releasing the charge beam inaccurately. The yellow gem's reflexes swiftly dodged it, and it faded into the sky.
"Wow." She chuckled. "You really are PATHETIC." The gem on her chest glowed, and she pulled a giant, yellow sword from it, the blade silver and clear. Peridot tried to shoot at Yellow Diamond again, but the sword stabbed through her visors and her gem. The surface cracked, and she let out a screech of agony. She slid the sword out of her forehead, causing the small gem to fall to the ground.
Pearl let out a terrified screech. Peridot's limbs flailed, coughing and spitting blood. The cracks on her gem spread, and she stopped moving, her eyes slightly dulling. She looked up at Pearl, her vision fading in and out and blurring.
"Pearl." She quietly rasped, her fingers on her limb enhancers moving as if they were malfunctioning. It was barely able to grab her tape from her suit. The fingers flicked the device towards her. "I'm sorry… I-" Her voice began to glitch and stop. Her skin began to crack like dry soil. "I- I l… love.. y-you." With a bright flash, her form retreated to her gem, and her gem combusted into tiny pieces.
Her sight blacked out, a faint remembrance of Pearl's tears rolling off her face, her ghastly expression, it quickly faded until there was nothing left. A never-ending emptiness. A barely audible voice echoed in the darkness,
"LOG DATE 7 27 2. I have accepted my inevitable fate of being trapped on this.. 'Earth.' While I am still confused as to its functions, the Crystal Gems have helped me understand this planet. After destroying the Cluster, I know what is bound to happen next. Homeworld will scan the planet, then they will come to destroy it. I- We may not have much time, but I am too afraid to tell the others. So, I must give them my thanks. Amethyst, while defective, has shown me that I can become a better gem, and how to discard the past. I thank her for showing me how to move on. Steven has helped me communicate with the other gems, and demonstrated how the 'weather' on this planet works, and some other events that happen inside the crust. I thank him for teaching me how to live here. Garnet has taught me that fusion is not just an easy way to make gems become strong, but it is a special bond shared between the two fused gems, and an unbroken trust. She has taught me what love is. I thank her for helping me open up to others. Pearl... " There was a long pause. "She has shown me how to fight properly, and how to care for myself and others. I deeply respect her independent ways, and the way she has used her grace to her advantages. She's.. Also... Quite 'beautiful.' I thank her for showing me that I can be who I want to be. I also thank her for even being created. She is a very beautiful gem, and I love her. I love Pearl. If you are hearing this message, then I have probably been shattered. Please, if the others are still alive, please let them listen to this. Peridot, Facet 5, end log."