The war ended not even a day ago. I wanted to go back to Earth and take a nap. Rest up for whatever mission they'd send me too next, but here I am. On the empire's main planet, Homeworld. Wearing the regal duds they gave me much to my dismay. They take so damn long to put on because Homeworld has no idea how to make clothing. Though I wouldn't expect them to put much of any resources towards it. I'm here on Homeworld to celebrate another victory in what doesn't deserve to be called a war. It ended far too quickly. I'm here though I'd rather be taking a nap right now than dealing with these plebeians, but it was White Diamonds orders, so we can't just blow this off.
"Oh, if it ain't Rose Quartz," I recognize that patronizing voice anywhere.
"What do you want, Onyx," I turn around facing my patronizer.
Onyx is one of Homeworlds generals like me. She's tall and broad shouldered like all quartz gems. She has a dark grey skin tone and her clothes are of a black and grey color scheme. Her eyes are jet black and her hair a contrasting white to the rest of her being a pure black. Height wise she's about as tall as me, age wise howevers she's much much older. She actually fought against my mother's rebellion and she constantly likes to remind me about it. She does it to try and get a rise out of me, since she thinks bad mouthing my mother would anger me, but all it does is bore the hell out of me. I don't care about Rose's Rebellion, I don't care what you think of it. I'm not Rose so tell that to someone who will give a damn.
"Oh. Onyx calm down just give our little friend some room," I also recognize that nonchalant voice. It's Heliodor. Heliodors the closest one to me in age. Me being younger than her by a century and for me specifically being the youngest general. Her gem is placed on the center of his chest. And has an octagonal shape resembling mine. Heliodor is again a battle type gem, but not a quartz one. She's shorter than both me and Onyx, and not nearly as muscular. She does have long hair like quartz gem though. Her's being yellow and tied in a ponytail fashion. When it comes down to raw-strength among Homeworld generals she's not on par with the rest, but somehow she's earned himself this rank and I have yet to actually see him fight to learn why.
"What the hell are the both of you doing on Homeworld? Don't you have things to do," I ask them. As a general myself I know for a fact that I'm busy all the damn time.
"Hey. I'm just passing through and I felt like talking to my good friends."
"I have no friends," I retort.
"Course you don't. No one wants to be associated with a filthy hybrid," Onyx admonishes walking away.
"One of these days she's going to get shattered and I'm going to laugh and laugh."
"Aww, ya being too mean-," Heliodor's cut off when Yellow Pearl comes to speak to me.
"Rose Quartz. You are called for," she informs.
"Awww. Our conversation was cut short," Heliodor mourns.
"It was already too long," I retort following Yellow Pearl.
We reach the part where White Diamond is readying to give a speech," My Diamond," I take a knee bowing to my leader and facing my head down towards the ground.
"You're late," she tells me.
"My sincerest apologies My Diamond. I got held up by Heliodor and Onyx on my path here."
"Excuses."
We all step out onto the balcony. Awaiting us is a boundless number of aristocratic gems and I'm sure this is being broadcasted over ever communication hub we have. And I'm damn sure no gem would dare not watch this. Afterall to them White Diamond is their infallible god. She began to give her speech about the unstoppable power of Homeworld. Their might, resources, strategy and a bunch of other things I don't care about. She begins talking about how I valiantly fought on the front lines of war and slayed the leader of the oh so terrible rebellion. That flattery factor of this really diminishes when this isn't the first time. I'm only here to just stand and look pretty for this entire speech. Much like a Pearl, but I have a much more lasting impression than a Pearl. In what? Six hours? This damn thing ends and everyone is released and told to get back to work. I head straight for the galaxy warp. Warping straight back to earth. Left just as desolate and dessert as I remeber.
"Home sweet-," I'm interrupted with my celebration that I'm back to the desolate planet of my origin by that damn Peridot again!
"This better be really damn important," I growl back at the monitor.
The Peridot lurches back at me response, but answers," one of the three specific gems you told me to keep tell you immediately if they made a move, it's going after the 9th communication hub," she tells me.
"I'm on it," I tell her.
"I'll send some soldiers to provide you some support-"
"DON'T," I sternly order," I'll solve this one on my own," pull out any gems in the area as well!"
"As you order," she answers. The screen disappears and I head to a warp pad; heading off in the blue warp stream towards a mission I never wanted to begin.
Inside the warp stream I seem to have a thousand thoughts a second racing through my brain; definitely brought on by the intense mental stress that I'm under right now. I'm heading to a fight I didn't want to occur in the first place. A fight that I never even wanted to get close too, but I went out of my way to be sure that when the time comes that I did have to come to this brutal confrontation. This is something that I must do on my own, but it's not something I want to do. Because this particular corrupted gem is a scar from my past. I'm beginning to contemplate just jumping out of the warp stream and freezing to death when sadly the stream ends as I arrive at my destination. A deafening roar shatters the air. Stemming from a corrupted gem. Looking down from the 9th communication hub I see the gem that I so very loathe, yet pity and mourn for. The gem walks on all fours, and is a about as large as a three story building and as long as a bus. The entire thing is almost covered in fur. The only exception to this is it's feet and face. It's tail breaks off into three different, separate tails moving independently. And each tail has purple hooks jetting off from them, and it's fur has a purple hue to it.
I step forward falling down and down and down. Right before I land I slow my descent and land safely," it's been a long time since we've been face to face...Amethyst."
"Too long, little man," is what I wish it said, but it only lets out a merciless roar in response. When I was young I didn't think I'd actually miss being called little man so much, nor did I think it was possible to miss it.
"Well, there's no point in postponing it even further," I summon my shield," let's end this!"
I bring up my shield against Amethyst as her tail whips from behind at me. It glances off my shield with a clang. But, this isn't my first time fighting Amethyst and I have scars to show it. I know to keep back and reel my shield behind me as it drags it's talks back. The jagged hooks cutting cross my shield. The force pushes me back, but I stand strong not giving it any room to nearly kill me like it did the last two times. It pounces forward. Claws and teeth brandished, but I've seen this already as well. I roll forward right under Amethyst. It smashes into the hub and it shakes a fair bit. I should be more focused on doing what my job of protecting the hub from getting damaged, but that's not important to me. It never was. Amethyst quickly whips around and pounces on me again. I roll under it once more, but this time grabbing onto it's fur. My shield fades away as I use both arms to hold onto Amethyst. She runs like hell and tries to shake me off. My left hand slips, but I grab right back on climbing onto her back.
"Sorry," I tell her. Pulling back my right hand and thrusting it forward into her back. I've broken the light based forms of gems before, but to do it to corrupted gems is a completely different experience. Stabbing you hand into the body of a regular gem the light based form juts parts around the injury and then poofs. For a corrupted gem the inside is murky and muddled. It's like stabbing your hand into goo.
Amethyst doesn't poof at the damage, but something like that is still nothing to be scoffed at. It doesn't poof, but it trips over itself in pain and falls over. I yank my hand out shaking it clean of the glowing white goo that is her form. I jump off at the last second; avoiding getting crushed into a fine past under Amethyst weight. It slides against the barren rocky surface of Earth and like this I can finally see my target. The purple gem that is embedded in her. I rush forward forcing one foot after the other. My feet thumping along the ground as I bolt towards my old friend. Closing in on Amethyst I grab her gem with my right hand; tugging at the stone. I place my foot on Amethyst chest, I grit my teeth and hold onto the purple stone with all my might. With one final tug the gem is freed. With the gem removed the body poofs away. I stare at the purple gem in my hand. It's… nostalgic.
I do something I haven't done in a long time. Using both hands I form a solid light pink bubble around it. I tap the top and it sending her somewhere else. She's sent back home. Back to the temple. I trudge along the ground walking back to the temple on my own two feet. My arms hurt from having to do all that. I did block her tail with the shield, but even then she hits as hard as ever. Walking back to the temple I'm left to my own thoughts. Much to my dismay the only one's that come to mind are the Crystal Gems. The good and the bad; the times I've laughed and cried, but looking back on them now the only thing I feel is. Emptey.
At the doorway to the temple I see lion with the bubble in his paws. Rolling it back and forth between his paws," hey! hey! Don't pop it," I scold taking the bubble from it.
AN: dun dunna dun! And to announce the winner of which will be made into a full fanfic it's The End. Regardless I have to thank you for the good feedback. Andfor once I don't have much to say before the chapter. So as always my tumblr blog is under the handle: Dragonrusher21 at the Nest of Insantiy. Please join me there some time and if you enjoy be sure to favorite, follow and possibly leave a review.
He grumbles something as I open the door and he heads in first and I follow him after. I head to one of the forsaken parts of the temple. The burning room. There I lift the bubble up as it drifts up towards the ceiling joining the small number of gems I bothered to catch. I remeber back when the collection here was massive. Many gems and many different bubbles including the odd item. Each one seemingly holding a story of their own, but now it's an empty shell of what it could and used to be.
I go to stroke Lion's mane, but he simply pushes away sitting down staring at Amethyst gem. "Don't wait up on her." He doesn't even seem to hear me. He just continues staring at it.
