"Rose Quartz."
The gravelly tone made her turn. There she was, standing in front of her, that perfect Jasper. Even with Gems fleeing in every direction, summoning weapons, advancing, the Quartz seemed to stand above everything else.
Rose narrowed her eyes. "Jasper. What do you want?"
She grinned. Her smile was wide and threatening. "Isn't that obvious? I want to crush you." Her eyes hardened. "You and all your defective Gems."
She wouldn't be beaten by this Gem. She was a Diamond.
She shot her the iciest glare she could manage. "And why do you want that, Jasper? Why do you sentence our planet to destruction?"
"Pink Diamond's planet," the Quartz seethed. Something in her stony expression trembled. "Pink Diamond's planet deserves better than you, you FILTH!"
Rose took a subconscious step back. The Quartz quickly filled the distance. "You defective, pathetic, overcooked FILTH! She was your DIAMOND!"
"Well, maybe I didn't want to be imprisoned anymore," she bit back. "Wouldn't you rather be free? Free to make your own decisions? To live your own life?"
"The only reason I have a life is because of Pink Diamond," Jasper hissed. She lunged forward, and Rose raised her shield, tensing against the impact. When she lowered it again, Jasper was standing, her visor cracked. Her eyes were wet.
"She was everything I had to live for," she growled, and her voice quaked. "I loved her. Everyone loved Pink Diamond. And you had to TAKE HER AWAY!"
"Rose!"
She spun just in time to see Snowflake disappear in a puff of smoke. Her mottled gemstone clinked to the ground. Bismuth was still holding her own against the Homeworld Citrine.
"Rose, help!" Bismuth begged her, and Rose raised her sword, launching herself forward.
"ROSE!"
Poof!
She stopped in her tracks. Pearl's gemstone rolled to a stop at her feet, and when she looked back up at Jasper, she blinked back furious tears.
"I only met with Pink Diamond once," Jasper gritted, and Rose is ready to attack her, to cut her down. She clenched her teeth and brandished her sword—
"But I know she loved me!"
The words arrested her motion. She stared, dumbfounded, at the looming Quartz. Tears were flowing freely down her patterned face. "She loved me," she whispered. "And I loved her too. She was my everything. And you shattered her."
Jasper swiped an arm across her face and glared with hatred at Rose. "Have you ever felt loved?"
Pink swings her legs to the music. Before her, Gems belonging to all the Courts are dancing in tandem, swaying, swinging, gliding across the floor. How she longs to jump down and dance along with them . . . but these festivities are for her beloved Gems, not for herself.
And, she smiles to herself, look how blissful they are.
She turns and looks up at Yellow. She is startled to see her gazing back at her with bright eyes.
The larger Diamond's eyes are soft, and Pink beams up at her, swinging her arm out at the multitude of dancing Gems. Yellow nods and smiles in return, and, happily, Pink whips back around to wave at Blue.
Later, at the closing of the Ball, her Pearl catches her alone. "Oh, my Diamond, it's wonderful! They all love you!"
She laughs tenderly. "As much as you do, my Pearl?"
"Oh, don't tease me! Look, look!"
The Gem on her navel lights up and in front of her is projected an imagining of a pair of higher class Gems — Jades, Pink thinks to herself.
The two Gems hold hands and gaze at her — down at her. "Oh, please tell Pink Diamond how wonderful we think she is!" beams the first. She cups the gem on her cheek in excitement.
"Yes," smiles the other, composed. "We greatly enjoy her festivities. Many Gems, we know, look forward to her Balls."
"Oh, yes, they most certainly do!" chimes the first. "We all adore your Diamond, Pearl! She makes us so happy!"
And the imagining dissipates, leaving Pink stunned, but pleasantly flushed.
"Pearl," she whispers. "Is that a memory?"
"Yes! Yes, of course!" Her excitement is palpable. "It's all true, every moment of it!"
The night sky stretched gloriously above them. The gentle lapping of the waves echoed back along the beach.
"Rose . . . do you ever think about home?" Pearl asked, her voice soft.
She blinked. Home?
When she raised her eyes to the gorgeous dome of the sky, spattered with stars, one in particular caught her attention.
Her expression darkened. ". . .Oh."
"I suppose. . ." Pearl continued. "Don't you ever miss . . . them? Blue? Yellow?"
When Rose spoke, her voice was sharp. "No."
Pearl, lying back in the grass, seemed to jump at her tone, but rolled her head shyly towards her. ". . . Why not?"
"The Diamonds . . . I was never treated like they treated each other. I wasn't someone to them. I was just . . . just the last piece of the puzzle."
Silence. Seconds ticked by, then minutes. Rose had just begun to drift off when Pearl spoke again.
". . . They did care about you, you know."
Since her and Garnet's forming Sardonyx, Pearl had become increasingly confident. Rose would be proud of her, if she hadn't picked such a controversial topic.
Rose scoffed. "Well, they didn't act like it, did they."
A small pause.
"Well . . . they did give you the Earth. Before . . . Before I was given to you, I overheard White Diamond discussing the entire Solar System with the others. She planned to give it all to you."
Rose didn't answer. As the gentle breeze blew, curls tickled her cheeks, and she gazed up at the indicator of the Homeworld galaxy. Home. . .
"Blue! Blue, watch out!"
Pink charges in ahead of White, taking a great leap and splashing right into the other Diamond's relaxation pool. When she surfaces, Blue laughs, shaking sodden locks from her eyes.
"My, Pink, and what has you so excited, hm?"
"White, White! Tell her what you did!"
Blue smiles up at White, and the larger Diamond rests herself on the edge of the platform.
"I decided it was time for my Starlight to become properly integrated into our Authority."
"She gave me a ship, Blue!"
Pink splashes over to the Diamond and scrambles up to sit on her knees, poking above the water.
"A ship of my very own! And it's HUGE! It's a pair of legs — pink legs — and White told me they fit together with her head and your and Yellow's arms!"
"Oh, that's just wonderful, Pink!" Blue coos, and lifts her with both hands up to her face. She plants a soft kiss on her head and shoots White a mischievous look. "Your leg ship is centuries overdue, if I'm to be completely honest."
"I love it, White! Thank you!"
White gives a small smile, reaching out to stroke her hair. "Anything for my Starlight."
"Do you . . . miss your home planet?"
"No. Never."
As she sat, thinking, perched upon the Temple warp pad, she admitted to herself, quietly, that that wasn't quite true.
Amethyst was a very capable Gem, indeed, but her childish ways, and the Crystal Gems' reception to them, reminded Rose very much of herself and the other Diamonds, at times.
Sometimes, she caught herself thinking about the rays of light in her Homeworld life. She had left because of the darkness, but sometimes, she wonders, could she have expanded those tiny rays of light herself?
If she had worked harder, could she, really, have brought her family together, or would she always be looked down upon, as was the way?
Abuse, humans called it. But only in recent times.
Over the centuries, she had approached many humans, and posed for them the hypothetical scenario. In the beginning, when humans still hunted and gathered, and indeed, through the times, until only very recently, they had told her that's how their lives had always been. Only in the past ten to twenty years had people told her that that sort of treatment was not right.
It made her doubt herself sometimes, and increasingly often. So many humans had endured what she had, but they had lived with it. They had not put up a fight. They had taken the light in their lives and cherished it.
Should she have done the same? Could she have lived happily on Earth with her family?
Could she have let herself by loved by them?
"Your Zoo is really very interesting, Pink."
Pink, gazing down at the humans' enclosure with Yellow, sighs softly. This isn't what she had wanted. Though they are fascinating, and incredibly adaptable, these humans should be free on their planet.
She has to admit, they do seem much happier now. She has observed them over the years, and this current generation has to be the second since their capture. Now, they thrive in their artificial environment, and they enjoy themselves regardless.
What she can't forget about them is their purpose — their sole purpose, just to exist. Humans aren't born or created, like Gems, to serve, to work. They are born to live, and that is all.
"Perhaps we can 'preserve' some other organic species in more tailored Zoos."
She starts at that, and, plastering a quick smile on her face, she reassures Yellow. "Oh no, it's really alright. The humans . . . The humans are wonderful by themselves, really."
"But you do enjoy keeping them, don't you?" Yellow observes. When she turns her gaze on Pink, her expression is tender. "Wouldn't you like some more variety? I know you'll get bored of these organics eventually." She laughs. "But if we got you some more . . . well, you'd be entertained for millennia, wouldn't you? And you could conduct scientific research on your organics, make some use out of them. If you wished, I could help you with that."
Pink is feeling herself grow hopeful. If Yellow wants to preserve so many species for her. . .
"Why don't we just preserve Earth?" She asks. "That way, I can keep all the organics in their natural environment!"
Yellow sighs. "We've been over that, Pink. If you wish to help expand our Empire, you must carry through colonising your planet."
There's a bitterness flaring in her chest. Why won't they just listen? She's about to talk back to Yellow when an alarm blares and the lighted walls pulse. There's a thundering sound echoing down the hall.
Yellow straightens and pulls her to stand behind her for protection. A horde of Amethyst guards — they're all so original, so unique! Pink thinks to herself — skid to a stop in front of Yellow.
"And what do you think you're doing?" The Diamond reprimands.
One of the guards gulps. "Uh, Your Clarity. . . One of the humans has breached the enclosure gateway."
Yellow tuts and steps aside, pulling Pink gently with her. "Very well. Go see to your duties, then."
Pink tugs at Yellow's hand. "Yellow! Can I— Can we please go with them? I'd love to help with the humans!"
"Certainly not!"
Yellow's tone is sharp, and Pink slumps, watching the army disappear around the corner.
Yellow tugs at her hand and, when Pink looks up, her expression is tender. "We wouldn't want you getting hurt."
She glances one last time through the window and into the Zoo. "Now, let's get you back to your Earth base, hm? We can contact Blue from there. I'm sure she'd love to hear about your progress."
As her gem glows, she can feel her light form dissipating, retracting, and it's painful.
But she will not do anything to stop it. She wanted — wants this child with Greg, and she knew he and the Gems would look after them.
She already loves her child more than she feels she has the right to, considering she has never even seen them, never known them. But she adores them, her child, her human child, all the same.
Gazing up at the Gems through happy and pained tears, she can see they are all distraught. She wishes she can tell them how much they mean to her, but she has no strength left to. All she can do is trust that her child, her wonderful child, will show them that love themselves.
As she fades away, she thinks about the Bad, and the Good, and bids her families, both of them, goodbye. Perhaps she can make a better difference in this world. . .
With Steven.
PROMPT: "I know that Pink was abused by the other diamonds but I am just wondering if you will highlight the good memories she had with them. I would love to see more of their relationship as they seemed to genuinely love her in certain parts of the show." — for cat4139! Hope you enjoyed! :)
P.S. Can you spot the secret cameo?
P.P.S. "Already she loves more than she feels she has the right to"; revised line found in we will share by telanaris on AO3! It was just so beautiful, I couldn't help it. If you like The Arcana and looking after Julian and smut you will looooooveee telanaris.
