Zircon immediately struck a standard salute. Oddly enough, something struck her right thumb as she did so. She tried to complete the salute again, but again something hit her right thumb. Zircon quickly glanced down at her arms. Her face flooded with a cascade of blue as she realized her own hands had been smacking into each other. Quickly completing the salute, she added in a little bow.
"It-it is an honor to meet you, My Diamond!" Her voice broke halfway through, causing a fresh flood of blue in her cheeks.
Blue Diamond acknowledged her with a short, prim nod of her head, accompanied by a closing of the eyelids. "At ease. You may approach."
Zircon came within fifty feet of Blue Diamond. "Closer," said Blue Diamond, craning out a little more, over her throne. Her arm leaned into the armrest of her throne.
Zircon quickly shuffled over to within ten feet of the Diamond. At this distance, Blue Diamond towered over Zircon. Her form blotted out half of Zircon's front vision, and she had to bend her neck far upwards to meet the Diamond's eyes.
Shadows hid the Diamond's face, muting her features into bluish-black impressions of differing blurriness. The irises of the Diamond's eyes glowed dimly, casting a soft light onto the rest of her face-almost as if the Diamond wore a mask. The diamond-shaped pupils could be easily seen, a black speck amongst the light.
Blue Diamond reclined in her chair, her blue cloak poofing out with the disturbed air as her back hit the throne. The cloak slowly settled once more, the air leaving. "Let's begin. How about you tell me about some of your cases?"
Reassured by the familiar material, Zircon gave her Diamond a quick overview of her legal career. The Diamond listened silently, face unchanging even when Zircon spoke of her failures. Zircon wrapped up her latest case, and stood at attention.
"Maybe you should tell me about a specific case?" suggested Blue Diamond.
Zircon gulped and sucked air into her chest, puffing it out rapidly. "What cases would you like to hear in particular, My Diamond?" Perhaps Zircon could catch a glimpse into the mystery assignment of Blue Diamond's.
"How about…the Seraphinite?"
Seraphinite…a murder case. Did a murder happen recently in Blue Diamond's Court? If so, was the murderer caught? The Seraphinite case had been an odd one-Zircon never actually stood in trial-as it involved mostly footwork. Blue Diamond may need a good detective, Zircon mused.
…But then why look for only legal gems? Surely, a Gem with more sleuth-oriented abilities would be more convenient. Still, the case ended with a victory for Zircon, even though she had needed to regenerate a new form after. It was no hard effort to recount her success. "Of course, My Diamond."
Zircon hesitated, then continued. It might be worth bringing up, and certainly wouldn't seem like she was trying to read her Diamond…"I never did any actual legal work on that case, My Diamond…mostly poring through case files, interviewing witnesses, suspects…"-here Zircon sighed-"dealing with the Agate guards…detective work, mainly."
Blue Diamond's hand rose to fold into a fist, directly underneath her chin, supporting it. "Tell me more."
"C-certainly!" Blue Zircon recited the facts of the case. Blue Diamond often interrupted to ask questions. She seemed to especially care about the logic behind Blue Zircon's actions. Zircon perked up-explaining things she knew about was her forte.
"How did you notice this Seraphinite was a problem?" Blue Diamond asked, massaging her jawbone with a thumb.
Zircon tapped the air with a finger, as if she wished to present evidence in court. "It was her Gem, My Diamond."
Blue Diamond blinked. Zircon hastily continued, unsure at the cues Blue Diamond sent, if any, "Her gem is circular, and flat, and has a marble pattern across the front, in dark green." She wiggled her fore finger across her upraised palm. "That Seraphinite also had white scattering. White scattering doesn't often happen in Seraphinites, and! there is a compound often used by lapidaries in the hospital. It's called Epoxy. This compound can be slathered atop Gems, to stabilize them. When it's dried on a Gem, its color looks exactly like the patterns on that Seraphinite."
Zircon took the liberty to pace back and forth in front of Blue Diamond's throne. She couldn't help it-whenever her thoughts flowed, her legs felt the need to be stretched. Zircon flashed a glance at Blue Diamond, but her expression did not change beyond her long face, with sky-high eyebrows. Zircon felt reassured, and continued, "So I asked her about her Gem."
Blue Diamond asked, "How exactly did you approach this topic?" Blue Diamond uncurled her fingers, starting to knead her jaw. Zircon wondered if her Diamond had injured her jaw, or if this was something she just did.
Zircon gave a sharp nod. "My Diamond, I didn't think that she'd be open to questions about her Gem, so I first began by asking small, simple questions. Questions like 'How are you feeling, with the shatterer being seen in this area?' Once she was comfortable, I decided to sidetrack the conversation away from the questions I really wanted to ask.
"I didn't want her to be thinking about the questions I asked her, you see. Just to answer them rapidly. I asked her if she knew anything about the shattering that happened recently, then I got her to tell me her alibi. There were a few holes in it, My Diamond, so I probed them a little, made her anxious. I thought, that maybe, if she was indeed the shatterer, she'd jump at the chance to change the topic."
"And she took the bait." Blue Zircon's shoulders lost their perkiness as Zircon stretched her neck a little. With that done, Zircon continued, less enthusiastic than before. "I…pushed her a little too much, and she stabbed me in the shoulder with her Gem Weapon."
"That must have hurt," Blue Diamond commented.
"Yes, My Diamond, it did. Then she pinned me to the desk with her knife-it went right through my hand, I had to tear my form just to get it off-"
"Thank you, Blue Zircon," Blue Diamond interrupted.
Blue Zircon shut up, a dash ashamed. "Yes, my Diamond."
Blue Diamond's cloak and hood rustled and wiggled as the Diamond rolled her shoulders a little. After all, the throne did not seem to have any cushions. Zircon let out a huff. Even the seating in the court coordinator's office had cushions. Itchy, thin, shaggy cushions, but still. One would think the Diamonds would enjoy a little luxury.
Blue Diamond studied a palm, then stared at Blue Zircon. "Zircon, I won't ask you any more questions. You seem to be adept at answering. I'm more interested in seeing you in action."
A question appeared on Zircon's face, but Blue Diamond did not pause, offering no gap to ask.
Wrinkles appeared around the Diamond's eyes, animating her face a little. "There is only one last hurdle for you, Zircon. If you manage to handle this problem with grace, intellect, and cunning, I shall assign you to this case." Blue Diamond's eyes briefly shot up to the ceiling, and she muttered, "…Even if you lose, I shall assign you."
Her eyes snapped back to Zircon, making her start. "I have spent a long time designing a certain puzzle, and I shall now give it to you. It will please me if you set your mind to my puzzle completely." The Diamond's expression picked up. She looked genuinely excited as she shot a glance into the curtains lining the chamber.
Blue Pearl reappeared, cradling a square black slab. She set the board in front of Zircon. Zircon studied the board intently, eyes darting across its polished surface. Seven lines divided the board into eight rectangular spaces. Tiny cracks all around the rectangles led Zircon to believe they could be pressed.
"Zircon, the puzzle does not lie in the board's construction," said the Diamond calmly, but with a hint of impatience.
Zircon snapped her neck up quickly, reclining back into a sitting position. There had been no hint of admonishment, but Blue Zircon did not want to push her luck.
Blue Diamond waved her hand quickly than Zircon expected. Blue Pearl spoke, "Each of these buttons cycles through three colors: pink, white, blue and yellow. There is a reset button on the side."
The colors of the Diamonds, Zircon thought. She could not tell if that coincidence was meaningful without more evidence, of course…
"When you press one button, it will also affect the other buttons. Please experiment and try to switch all button colors to pink."
"O-okay," said Blue Zircon uncertainly. She hesitated before reaching for the board, waiting for a reaction from either, but none was forthcoming. Zircon flipped the board over, and inspected it. The square had a hairline crack all around its edges. Zircon traced the fine crack with the tip of her index finger. About halfway through, in the middle of an edge, the crack deepened as a depression opened under it, forming a little ridge. Zircon wedged her finger into it, trying to pry off the cover. It might be useful to see how this thing was made…maybe there are clues…? She thought, completely absorbed in trying to wrench the cover off. The cover resisted Zircon valiantly, but she could tell the cover was loosening.
"…Are you cheating?" asked the voice of Blue Diamond, a touch incredulous. Her eyebrows had leaped up to her brow.
A moment passed before Blue Zircon realized to whom Blue Diamond addressed her words, and another passed before she realized what the words Her Diamond spoke meant.
Absolutely alarmed, Blue Zircon spluttered out meaningless gibberish. The words became mangled and crushed by trying to speak at the same moment her body started. She let go of the board; it fell to the ground noiselessly. "I-I was just trying to open it up and see-"
"Please proceed in the way instructed," Blue Pearl said. "You won't be penalized, so please get started."
Blue Zircon said, "Y-yes," and bowed her head, flipping over the board, and pressing the first button on the left. It glowed white. None of the others changed. Shivers raced along her body, the effects of being nervous and having been startled too much. Slowly she recovered from her flight-or-fight state, and with her recovery returned her clear thought. The first order of business was to discover what pressing each of them did. Zircon pressed the white button. It turned pink, and the button on the far right turned white.
Blue Zircon whipped out a holographic screen, and began to write combinations on it. As she did so, she looked sheepishly from Blue Pearl to Blue Diamond. Neither of them spoke a word. Zircon lowered her eyes, hoping her reading of their silence was correct. Zircon wrote down her first trial-cycling through each button, and recording the number of presses for each and the effects on the other buttons.
One full cycle for the first button (white, pink, yellow, blue) changed the far right button to white, the second button from left pink, and the third button from right yellow. Blue Zircon finished the first entry, and pressed the reset button. The lights of the board vanished. Zircon repeated the procedure with the second button from left. That cycle (blue, pink, yellow, white) changed the first button from left white, the third button from left pink, and the second button from right white. Zircon continued for each, then brought up all results for each of the eight buttons, and fished for a pattern.
Indeed, a pattern surfaced. Despite each button having its own unique cycle pattern, the effects of each press did not change, but shifted with the button. Specifically, for each button further to the right, the effects would shift that many places over. Blue Zircon felt the blood in her form quicken, filling her head with a pleasant flush. With this pattern, she could devise a pressing sequence to turn each button pink!
Only a few moments passed before Zircon finished the calculation of the correct sequence. She pressed each button in quick succession, glancing many times at her hologram to confirm and re-confirm the sequence. On the last button, two buttons turned pink, except for the far left and far right, which turned yellow and blue, respectively. Zircon stared at the yellow light for a bit then tilted her head to gaze at the blue button, not understanding why the buttons had not turned pink, as they should.
"Hm. Maybe you should try again," Blue Diamond said, with a chuckle.
"Y-yes, of course, My Diamond," Blue Zircon said, pressing the reset button. Slightly irritated, Zircon repeated her process from before to the letter, re-recording the buttons' cycles and their effects. For each button, her irritation grew. The sequences had changed completely. The buttons no longer flashed the same sequence of colors, and the effects had been randomized. No kind of pattern could be drawn at all.
Zircon probed her snaggletooth as she hit the reset button and repeated her process for the third time in a row. She formed a hypothesis, and confirmed it: Every time the reset button was hit, the color sequence and effects changed.
Blue Zircon closed and opened her fingers, then bent them to relieve the building pressure. She had to form a different method of attack, but all of her theorized methods proved unfruitful. There was no need to even try them on the board. Even half-formed, hovering in her mind, she could predict her plans of attack would fail. Zircon crossed her legs, and hunched over the board, mind hunting for an idea.
Many failed attempts later, a light blue hand clamped over the front of the board, startling Zircon.
The Blue Pearl said, lifting the board slightly, "The trial is now over. My Diamond and I have watched you carefully, and have decided that we have observed all that we can. Furthermore, any additional attempts to solve the puzzle would be meaningless, as the puzzle is not meant to be solved."
Blue Zircon shakily got to her feet, protesting as Blue Pearl tried to take away the board. "Wait…Wait! I can still try again-I'll get it next time! I-!" Blue Zircon did not know what would happen if she did not complete the puzzle, forgetting that Blue Pearl said she wouldn't be punished, and that the puzzle had no solution.
Blue Pearl shushed her. "You are too jumpy. You are not in danger, so please cut a figure that instills confidence in your Diamond."
Zircon winced a bit at the barb, and lowered her head slightly. Blue Pearl handed her several files. As she accepted them, they winked out of existence with a glimmer of brilliant blue light. In her hologram control screen, a notification popped up: Six files uploaded.
"My Pearl has handed you the documents, so I expect that you will have received them," said Blue Diamond, folding her hands on her lap. "I will give you a summary of the case you have been assigned to, so give me your attention."
Blue Zircon lowered the control screen, and saluted her Diamond. Blue Diamond began to speak, quickly and sharply, her eyes wandering off to the side. "This is not a matter I want to dwell on while you are here, so…"
Blue Diamond's eyes flicked back to Zircon, pinning her in place with a much harder look than before. "A grave crime was carried out against the Diamond Authority by one Rose Quartz, of the Rebellion. She will be put on trial within any number of days. You are her defense. I expect you to carry out a thorough investigation. If any aspect of this case does not ring true in any way, you are to set things right by any means necessary, reporting to me directly. Do you understand?"
Zircon saluted again, "Yes, My Diamond! I will do as you command!" A question scraped against Zircon's mind, so important Zircon just had to ask, despite the perhaps inopportune timing. Blue Diamond had skipped over the most important part of the case-the crime. "My Diamond?"
Blue Diamond's expression did not change. Zircon assumed she was allowed to speak, and spoke: "If I may ask, what exactly is the crime?"
Blue Pearl's head snapped up to Blue Diamond. Blue Diamond's lower eyelids trembled, then her eyes twitched once, twice, then seemingly uncontrollably. Blue Diamond's lips twisted, and she mashed her lips together. Finally she said: "She shattered Pink Diamond."
