Hello everyone, I'm here with a new story. So quite a while ago, another author on this site, fanfics imperator, PM'D me with a story request that I gladly accepted. He asked me to write an au where Peridot raises Steven, sending me ideas as well as a draft for this chapter.
Keep in mind that while I'm happy to do requests, I only do ones I think I can handle( partially why I made my SU crossover anthology story, which I have yet to update sadly.) and can give a good spin on.
For those that think this'll be like Gift of a Diamond, I'm going to try my hardest to separate it from this story, establish a different tone and all that. Also this'll be a much shorter story, as in the chapter's will be longer, but my plans are to wrap this story up around 15 -20 chapters.
Well, let's get to it. I own nothing, not even this idea. Enjoy. :)
The green gem hardly had the time to do anything now that her occupation had been changed, rather radically for her taste. If you had asked her to do such a task long before she was officially assigned to it, she would've scoffed, called you a clod, and have you reported for shattering for 'impaired thought process'. Such a thought was a joke to Peridot, mostly because it seemed downright silly, not to mention impossible.
But when the Diamond's themselves ask you to preform such a feat of implausibility, you'd better be ready to move entire planets to get it accomplished. To serve the Diamonds, you need to be willing to accomplish the impossible.
As she sat in her chambers pondering her next step, Peridot took out her digital log and began to record. This was the first day of the rest of her life, she was not about to take any chances on making any mistakes. "Log date: Day 1 of Diamond education process. After my inspection and repair of Earth's warp pads proved to be an astounding success, my incredible rescue of the Diamond-Organic hybrid has risen my status to levels suitable to my needs and acquirements." She paused for a moment to gloat inwardly. Nobody else would've been able to do it. Only one with superior intellect and skill could've pulled it off.
"Further analysis of the hybrid have only proven my inquiries correct: the Pink Diamond Gem has been fully integrated into the organic's system. Despite the request of the Diamonds themselves, I've chosen not to remove it, doing so may prove disastrous, maybe fatal, to both organic and Gem." That wasn't exactly the news her Diamond wanted to hear. She was certain that she would've been shattered if it hadn't been for her quick thinking.
"The Diamond's anger and wrath was expected, and not unfounded. Rumors of Pink's demise have sunk deeply into their memories, and a emotional outlash was always a certainty. However, with evidence provided, I have been able to conclude Pink Diamond's reasons for the hybrid. Obviously, Pink Diamond created such an organism to succeed her where she failed. To make something stronger from within herself." Peridot had to admit, to make an entirely new being from practically nothing, that was remarkable, though why she made it part human wad beyond her. Perhaps it was from some sort of unforseen sentiment she couldn't understand.
"Further study shall be required on the subject. Furthermore, the hybrid, preferring to go by 'Steven', has been relocated to the human zoo until more detailed instruction can given." Peridot had to give herself a moment to really think about this. She should feel extreme pride in herself for getting this far. Instead, all she could feel was fear. The hybrid's life hung in the balance, as did her own. If she screwed up, it would be all over. Bye bye, so long the great and lovable Peridot. "My new position is, slightly unnerving to say the least. The adjustment period will last longer than expected, so I can only hope that I can come out unscathed."
Her thoughts turned back to the hybrid, the thing that started it all. "The 'Steven' has shown to be unnaturally clueless and naïve. Rather bouncy and energetic for one so little and frail. It's almost feels like it doesn't quite grasp the situation at hand. Its lack of general knowledge is also concerning, but can be easily remedied." Yet the hybrid was probably the happiest creature she's ever seen. It joyfully communicated with her when she got to earth about a month ago. Sure, 'Steven' was unknowingly helping her deceive his 'friends', but she was desperate. Besides, Peridot was convinced they were simply helping each other. She evaded capture for months, and he figured out he was Pink Diamond. Win-win, right? "Though the positivity and eagerness is a welcomed, if not annoying, trait."
A small alarm blips at the corner of her screen. Sighing with a big gulp, she wrapped up her message. "My duty begins at this very moment. I am content with moving forward. Only time will tell if I'm successful in my duty. Peridot, logging off."
Blue knew she should've been more happy. Both her and Yellow, they should have been ecstatic to hear the news. They should've praised the stars above in joyous uproar. It's what she would've done for either of them. It's what Pink would've done.
And yet here she was, so close, yet somehow farther than anyone could ever reach. 5000 years of mourning, 5000 years of agonizing pain, 5000 years of hoping, and now that it had come true, it almost felt like the torment refused to end. To have Pink, the youngest, the most frail of the Diamonds return from demise, but in such a fragile and weak form, it was a joke. The universe's most cruel and heartbreaking joke.
She knew that Yellow felt the same way, but she refused to let down that stern façade she had crafted. Stern and serious were all traits associated with Yellow Diamond long before Pink's 'shattering', but now it seemed to be her only trait. Blue could only imagine the pain she felt inside, especially once the Peridot reconfirmed her data and findings. Some small part of her wished she hadn't, that this was some sort of trick.
"..everything I have learned about the hybrid has lead me to conclude that it has no memories of being Pink Diamond." The Peridot re-repeated to them. It was almost more painful to hear the second time around. "The organic half has only been alive for four years. However, the glowing of the gemstone shows that the Pink Diamond gem remains active, most likely providing itself as some sort of life support for the creature. To remove it would be tempting the life of both halves."
Yellow's expression tightens noticeably. It was taking all the self control she had not to poof the gem. Under normal circumstances, she would've done it the instance she shut her mouth, and Blue would've berated her for being unreasonable and out of line. But this was too delicate a situation. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity gift wrapped for them, and if they didn't take it now, they risked losing Pink forever. "So you're saying, Pink is alive, but out of reach?"
"By the simplest definition of the situation, yes."
Confirmation of this revelation deeply disturbed Blue. Thanks to that planet, her fallen Diamond remained trapped somewhere, deep away in a human. She always assumed her fascination with organics would be the end of her. She never thought it would be true. "Is, is there a way to make contact?" She asked hopefully.
Peridot sweated meteors as she prepared to answer Blue Diamond. Her bouts of sadness were legendary by this point. "N-no, from all I've gathered, the connection between the gem and human is a complex and unorganized mess. The organic has full control." Massive tears began to fall from Blue's eyes as the stern gaze of Yellow grew more deadly. "But, I am deeply convinced that Pink Diamond purposely and willingly gave her life for this hybrid. By all means, this should be impossible to do, and yet she found a way to make it work. To not see this creature's potential through would quite frankly be a mockery of Diamond's legacy." She could already feel how offended both the Diamonds felt by that statement. "With all due respect, of course."
Her blunt and rather hurtful comment aside, Blue gave a small sigh. "And you are certain that this, hybrid is what she wanted?"
"Beyond a doubt."
It was as close as she was going to get, and by the stars, she was going to take that chance. "Then by our approval, you shall be in charge of her re-education until further notice." Yellow spoke with slight contempt, but Blue was able to see what no one else would've been able to. In the corner of her eyes, a small shed of sadness seeped out.
"Yellow, are you sure this is what you want?" Blue loudly whispered. "Pink has been away from us for so long, we, we deserve the chance to see her.." A blue light began to flood the room. "We need to see her."
Yellow fought back the tears. "We were too rash with Pink's colony. We pushed her there when we knew she wasn't ready. And if what this Peridot says is true, she doesn't remember us." Her tone was calm and formal, like she was giving a lecture at a meeting. "It wouldn't do us any good to see her like this."
Blue knew deep down that was true. Everything they heard seemed to point to one conclusion: this wasn't Pink. Not the Pink that they knew anyway. But there was still one glaring problem with this. "What about White?"
White would've had them shattered for keeping something so important from them, for not telling her sooner. There was no reasoning with her. She wouldn't give the hybrid a chance, she would rip that gem right out no matter the consequences. "For know, until we can properly introduce the hybrid into our society, White CANNOT find out about this. Have it stay in the zoo, and make sure no one see's that gem, got it?" Yellow stressed seriously.
Peridot gave a slightly worried solute before making her exit, leaving the two Diamond's alone together. "It's difficult to know when you're doing the right thing, isn't it?" Blue thought out loud. "Did we even know how to handle Pink before any of this?"
"I, I suppose we didn't." Yellow answered as she raised her hand to her forehead. "That child, she always did what she wanted, always danced at the wrong time, always brought some creature to the ballroom, always bouncing around. She never once thought about the consequences. She only thought about herself." Yellow said without apology.
"Yellow!" Blue snapped back.
"It's true, Blue! How many times did we lock her in that tower?! How many times did you let her off the hook when she made you feel sorry for her!? How many times did we let her have her way whenever she pestered us!?" Anger fused with her sadness, lashing out at Blue more harshly than she wanted to.
"That was our sympathy, our love for her!"
"WE LEAD HER TO HER DEATH BLUE!"
The moment it all came out, Yellow wish she could shatter herself. It was unspoken, but Blue and Yellow always felt the guilty. To this day, they couldn't tell you if they actually were. White certainly held the blame over them, the few seconds they were able to see her that.
Blue's eyes widened. Yellow was clearly trying to find a way to take it back, but Blue didn't let her have the chance. "Maybe your right." She said in the most passive aggressive tone Yellow ever heard her speak. "The last thing she should see is her killers. We're clearly not the one's who cared for her. No, they died with Pink Diamond that day." Her bitter undertone hit Yellow hard. Now she knew what the other side of the argument felt like.
With Blue leaving after that, Yellow was left all alone with her thoughts. Her confused, angry, and self-tormenting thoughts. This should've been easier. This should be happier. SHE should be happier.
"Why can't I be happy?" She tearfully asked herself, knowing an answer would probably never be found.
Steven was happy. He was pretty sure that was the case. If he wasn't happy, then what else could he be?
Sad? He didn't think he was. He hasn't seen his Dad, Garnet, or any of the others in a while. Were they hiding from him? No, Peridot took him to space. If anything, he was the one hiding. Peridot did say something about not being seen by anyone, but all those nice smiling people noticed him. Maybe hide and seek just wasn't his game.
Mad? No, he could never be mad. People who were mad had problems with other people, and he loved everyone around him. His dad taught him about music and songd, Garnet taught him how to be silent and cool, Amethyst taught him how to laugh, and Pearl taught him how to be safe. Peridot brought him into space, there's no way he could ever be mad at her for that.
So when Peridot came back to the Zoo( he wasn't sure why this place was called a zoo. He saw a bunch of people running around, but no animals. People can't be animals, right?), and asked him how he was, he could only give an honest answer.
"Confused." The four year old confessed as sat down on the grass, staring up at Peridot. "I have a whole mix of feelings in my head right now. Is it possible to have so many feelings at once?"
"Probably not." Peridot answered as best as she could. "But then again, most of our kind are barely able to express one, so it's most likely just a human thing." The hybrid makes a small nod, something thr green technician had to smile at. Most failed to appreciate her straight-forward attitude. The hybrid wasn't offended by something as silly as 'rudeness'.
It had been a while since the boy last saw the green gem. She appeared almost out of nowhere one day and Steven thought he had made a new friend. He talked to her about everything he knew about the planet, and in return she would allow him to follow her whenever she needed to complete her 'task'. Steven saw no harm in befriending the green lady, though maybe he should've followed his day's advice on stranger danger. She constantly asked him not to tell his friends about her, so that was probably a bad sign.
She stuck around in secret for about a month, and one day she plainly told him that she was leaving. He then pleaded with her to stay, telling her that all gems should stick together, showing off the one on his belly to show his point. The next thing he knew, she pulled off some sort of machine, called him Pink Diamond, and took him away on the warp pad without giving him the chance to say goodbye to his family. That wasn't really the nicest thing to do, especially since she just kind of dumped him here and left for who knows how many days. "Why did you take me here?"
Not noticing the uneasiness in his voice, Peridot responded with little to no tact in her voice. "Because you are one of the 4 main components in our Great Diamond Authority, and as your humble and flawless subordinate, it is me sworn duty to see you reach your full potential and radiance."
Steven hardly understood half of what she said, but nodded anyways with a small frown lingering on his face. Peridot was a bit puzzled by the boy's attitude. From their time on earth, she studied how he acted, how he behaved, how he smiled every time she was around. Clearly something was wrong if that wasn't the case anymore.
"My Diamond, it has occurred to me that your emotional state has become less, positive." Peridot stated as she sat down right beside him. She was now the Diamond's caretaker, and she knew pleasing her Diamond was her number one priority. That, and a small part of her felt a sinking feeling from seeing the boy in a downtrodden state.
"Don't call me that. My name is Steven." The hybrid answered with a more irritable tone that took the green Gem by surprise.
"I haven't forgotten your preferred title, I've merely gone with mine. It's no different than calling sand silicone, water H2O.."
"But I'm not sand! I'm Steven! It's what I was born with, and it's who I'll always be!" Steven shouted back, with his chubby face turning a bright tomato red.
"On Earth, that insipid title might've meant something, but up here in Space, it means nothing to nobody because nobody cares about anything on Earth!" Peridot snapped back. She hadn't gotten this frustrated with anything up to a month ago, when she first came across the hybrid. Oh boy.
"But I'm here, and I care! I care about earth, about my family, and you took me away from all that! What kind of friend are you!?"
"Oh you dense, worthless piece of a stone, I'm not YOUR FRIEND! You are just a fortunate piece of organic samples that I unfortunately have the immense displeasure of looking over!" Peridot released all the anger she held at once. Surprisingly, Steven's face remained unchanged from its angry position, though a small tear was shed.
Oh crap, maybe she went a little too far with that. "My Diamond, I assure you.." Once Steven heard the 'd' word, he stormed off to a corner and covered himself with as much leaves as he could. "Okay, this is just ridiculous. It's like your trying to act like a child."
"I am child. Deal with it!"
Well, he did make a good point there. "This is not how I thought I would end." Assassination from some gem's petty jealousy or something of the like, but nothing like this. "My Diamond.." The boy only shifted himself farther away. It felt weird to see the hybrid actively ignoring her now, especially since he spent an entire month almost obsessing over her, shaping literal stars in his eyes every time she saw him. To suddenly lose that constant and unconditional admiration from him made the green gem feel a bit empty on the inside. "Steven, I've been, assigned to look over your because whether you know it or not, your Pink Diamond. You have the gem in you, and that alone makes you one of the most important people in the universe."
He still didn't face her, but he did respond back. "I never asked to be Pink Diamond. I only ever wanted to be me, to be Steven."
"What's so important about that name to begin with?" Peridot asked with genuine curiosity. Humans didn't have a certain type of classification, nothing like homeworld's at least. It seemed that almost any human of any size or shape could be called anything.
"My Mom and Dad gave me that name when I was born. I don't remember my Mom, but my Dad always calls me Steven, Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, everyone that I love calls me by that name. I don't want to be called anything else." The boy turned his body over to face her. His face had finally reached it's normal pale color, though his eyes were a bit blood shot.
It was a matter of sentiment. Something she didn't know much about, but she didn't argue against. "If your, family, means so much to you, why did you deceive them when it came to my presence?" She was meant with silence. She had to remember to dumb down her words around him. "Why did you lie to them about me?"
"Because you asked me to." Steven answered honestly like there couldn't been another solution. "I wanted to be you friend, and I try to help all my friends."
She was dumb. She had to be the dumbest gem in the galaxy to do what she did. Peridot's eye suddenly felt warm and watery. "Stop making feel things." Peridot wiped away the incoming tears as she scooted closer to the boy, and this time he didn't back away. Did she feel bad about taking him away from earth? Did she feel bad because her job became more difficult? Or was it just some strange fusion of both. "Auugh, seriously, stop it!"
"I'm not doing anything. This is all you." Steven bluntly told her, making her jump as she realizes that he was right.
"This just became a lot more complicated." She groan. As if something as huge as this was going to be easy. "Steven, I know what I did to you, brought you some level of discomfort, and left you clueless. For that, I have to apologize. I can see now how difficult this can be, especially for someone so young."
"Is, is that your way of saying sorry?" Steven asked with a small smile reforming on his face. He still didn't understand most of what she said, but it sounded like it was going in the right place.
"Yes." She replied immediately, and as soon as she did, a huge wave of relief flowed throughout her physical form. It was as if saying the right words released some sort of pressure she didn't now she had. Something to look into for the future. "But now's not the time to focus on the past, because both of our gems are at stake." Steven's smile ended there. "Whether or not you call or see yourself as Pink Diamond, all of homeworld is going to see you as such." Steven's frown started to make her uncomfortable again. "It won't matter to them, they'll expect you to be Pink Diamond, and nothing less than Pink Diamond." Convince an entire race that their fallen Diamond was back and now half human. Why did she agree to the Earth assignment again? "It won't be for a while, but soon enough, you're going to have to take on that role, in both power and name. And how good you are at playing that role will determine if we survive."
This was starting to hurt his head. When did life get so complicated? "So, I will have act like Pink Diamond, even if I'm not her." A small nod confirmed this. It didn't look like he was going to go home anytime soon. "Can you at least keep calling me Steven. It can only be when it's just us. Nobody else has to know." Peridot didn't look to sure about it. "Please. I don't want to forget who I am." He pleaded.
If the gem had a heart, she was sure it would've stopped beating at the sight of his plea. She asked way more of him then he was. It wouldn't be fair if she didn't do the same. "I, that'll be acceptable, but we're going to have to be extra careful about it."
Within a blink of an eye, Steven got up and hugged as much of the green gem as she could, making her pause for a moment, not sure of what to do. "Thank you." Such small words. Usually it meant nothing to her unless it came out of the mouth of a Diamond. Strangely enough, Peridot felt like those words would hold just as much meaning if he wasn't one. Slowly, she returned the hug by wrapping some of her fingers around his shoulder.
"I'm glad that you're able to appreciate it, star's knows if this will work." Peridot muttered, doing her best not to let Steven hear. He still had yet to let go. "Release me please."
This was going to be a long life.
Once again, big thanks to fanfics imperator for choosing me to write this. :)
Next time: Jasper's 2nd chance.