Original Idea by: Scraps
Collaboration work with: DeityDeviantWarrior
Characters Created by: Rebecca Sugar
Chapter 9: House of Traitors
[*]
Tribunal Temple: one month later.
[*]
Topaz sat on the edge of the temple's rooftop as they watched the sun rise over the valley before them. It had been eons since a Gemian set foot in the old temple of the Tribunal, the one the Gemians used as their main home before Topaz and Diamond began to industrialize them. As Topaz looked down towards the ground below them, they saw a glimpse of themselves and Diamond fighting, with the Old King hitting the Taskmaster in the face with a rock, the same rock that was used to make the rings on their fingers. As Topaz looked at their ring, they took it off and examined it.
"Kings of three that were we…but who is the one that will be…" Topaz said mockingly as they stood up and clenched the ring in their hand. "… the one who will betray us, one who is willing to kill their kin without mercy or remorse?"
Topaz then summoned a projection of Diamond before them. Glaring into the projected hollow eyes.
"I will take that role, Diamond, the Old King." The Hologem replied. "I will bring my mace down upon those who oppose me and the justice I shall bring to this Universe. I will strike down all of my foes without hesitation…without mercy… nor remorse, starting with you."
Topaz screamed as they summoned their lance and charged at the hologem, the impact dissipated the image in an instant. However, Topaz continued to attack wildly at the air.
"You are quite the symbol of true failure, my little sibling." The projection laughed at Topaz. "How could someone like you even become a god? Not even your Secundos respect you, especially after what you did to Emerald."
"Shut up!" Topaz shouted as they continued to attack wildly. "How could you do this to us? To the Gems? To Rose? How could you turn on us?"
In that instant, the Taskmaster felt their mind flash back to that damned moment from several hours ago. They saw Diamond on top of Rose, drinking the vitae from her body while he…integrated with her. They then saw Diamond stand up and look to Topaz as he smiled.
"You will fail Topaz, just as you failed her, the Gems will follow the same fate." the Diamond projection hissed with a smile. "I will not rest until every…last…Gem…is mine, until all of the Universe, every last star in the sky, is mine...and it is all thanks to you."
Topaz then roared in frustration as they charged at Diamond, only for the vision to quickly disappear before them. As Topaz heard the sound of thunder in the distance and saw a large thundercloud approaching, Topaz sighed as they walked over to a latch and opened it, entering the Temple from so long ago.
[*]
Tribunal Temple, main chambers, present day
[*]
Topaz walked down the dusty catacombs, where once they were filled with the sounds of Gems talking and training as they were guided by the Tribunal. As Topaz entered the main chamber, they approached a portrait of the Taskmaster in a bronze suit. As the taskmaster approached the painting, they looked at the inscription beneath it.
"Præceptor Topazius: Me oculo steneat scientiam."
Topaz looked up to the picture and summoned their lance. As they touched the tip of the lance to the eyes of the painting, the Taskmaster vanished into thin air.
[*]
Topaz reappeared into a private study of theirs. There were scrolls, crystals, bottles, and books of different size and shape everywhere. There was also a large desk with several stacks of parchment and a few quills. As Topaz walked through the study, they then noticed a strange book sitting upon a stand. As they approached it, they noticed that the book was recently placed on the stand, as there were no signs of dust or age on the book. Topaz then picked up the book and examined it. It was light brown in color and had several markings all over the color. As they read the words on the cover, the taskmaster turned pale as they read the black letters engraved on the front.
"Quod Vetere Regem…" Topaz whispered as they looked at the book with shock. "This is one of Diamond's Memoirs. How did this...get here?"
Topaz looked at the book and sighed before they walked over to their desk and sat down before it, placing the book before them and opening to the first chapter, "Experimentis cum Curriculum Vitae". As Topaz turned the pages of the memoir, they saw that several pages were torn and several more were missing, from what Topaz could recover, it was all small amounts of data, all of which were set after the defeat of Tiberium and before the attacks by Onyx.
Insidiae Log Number 4,536:
"We lost Rhyolite today, the Spuria Vitulamina escaped along with that thief I was trying to modify. The Agates are not ready yet and there are still details I need to extract from him. Nevertheless, Peridot and I will find him, and take back what is mine."
Insidiae Log Number 6,445:
"Peridot's knowledge has once again been proven invaluable. With her help, I was finally able to crack the Metalians composition and we have developed a method of converting vitae into humor and vice-versa. With this data, there will be a new range of weapons and Gem potential. But for now, I think I should figure out a way to thank Peridot. Perhaps I will take her to Decasa and…"
Insidiae Log Number 8,547:
"The Obsidian is getting stronger now. I can feel it telling me to do things, terrible things. But the things it has show me…it can help me stop all of that before it can begin. With Obsidian's help, I can create a perfect Universe free of evil, I will finally make the Universe the way Gemia would want it."
Topaz continued to skim through page after page, they sighed in irritation. But as Topaz was about to close the book and throw it out the window, a page caught their attention and they read the page.
"Ipsum Obsianas Virus Quod"
"The Obsidian Virus?" Topaz said to themselves as they turned the page, but as they did, the pages following were black.
"What is this?" Topaz said in disbelief as they skimmed through the seemingly blank pages, stopping at a page with writing on it. As they read the following pages, they discovered that the pages were a letter…written for Topaz.
The Taskmaster could feel their hands shake slightly as they read the letter.
[*]
To my Gem Sibling Topaz,
If you are reading this then I have already won our war and I will be coming for you. Please understand that what I have done was for the greater good of the Universe. However, for now, I believe you deserve a explanation for myself.
For as long as we have been living, we have always been a tribunal, instructed by our mother to protect the Universe and keep the balance in line. Over time however, you and Rose began to develop your own ideals for protecting the Universe. You wanted to involve the Gems with issues only involving the Gems while Rose wanted to help the entirety of the Universe. I however, have seen the truth that the both of you could not see. After the defeat of Tiberium, I came to realized that the true enemy of this universe…was free will. Free will, if not controlled, will lead to chaos that has created wars that have destroyed entire planets. Free will that breeds hate and obsession into the minds of the lesser. I realized that the same ideals that infected the lesser being of the Universe were affecting the Gems as well and thus, I realized that there was only one clear solution to this madness: all of those with free will would have to be extinguished or reconditioned in order to save the Universe from itself.
After many years of planning, I realized that in order to establish full control of the Universe and purge it of evil, I would need to obtain the essence of the Crystal Mother. To do this, I would have to absorb the very vitae from you and Rose since we were created from her very Vitae. I only wish I knew this before I became ...savage towards Rose. In hindsight, her rape would have been the perfect opportunity to extract what I needed. Nevertheless, I have already begun my plan as we speak and such a mistake will be quickly corrected.
During my time on my Gem colony of Insidiae, I acquired the Metalian Intelligence and with her help, we discovered that we could use the three essences, Vitae from the Crystal Gems, Humor from the Metalians, and Ichor from the Obsidian Levithan, for two purposes: The first purpose was to create a new army. After the war with Tiberium, I have used Vitae and Humor from the Metalians to create a new breed of soldiers that I have coined "Agates." With an army of Agates, each powered by a Gem core, I shall be able to assure my control over the entirety of the Universe.
The second purpose of the use of these essences was to continue create efficient servants. In order to accomplish certain tasks, I would need a servant who would follow my orders and, unlike an Agate, could follow them with an organic touch. Thus, like what you have done with Emerald and Lapis, I was able to create a Secundo from fraction of my essence, a Secundo you may know by the name of Onyx, who I instructed to abduct Gems under the guise of a rogue Gem. By modifying a extracted portion of her Vitae and mine with Ichor, I have created what I assumed to be an more efficient servant and a new weapon for the Diamond Authority. However, from the rapid tests I have conducted on her, the servant's wild behavior and rejection to the Ichor has been a growing setback, and I assume this will eventually result in her becoming a defective servant. Despite this, I have decided to use her essence to conceive a new Secundo. With the use of my new servant and a army of Agate drones, I shall soon have enough power to restore the Universe to pure order. Soon the corruption of free will shall be extinguished and in its place, unending peace and order. So says Master Diamond, once the leader of the defective Crystal Tribunal, now the leader of the Diamond Authority, and soon, the Universe.
I hope that by the time you read this, you will have decided to accept your fate and will surrender peacefully. If not, then be prepared to embrace the fury of true order.
Signed,
Master Diamond
[*]
Topaz gently closed the book as they placed their shaking hands over their head as they began to weep. Between the imprisonment of Emerald, the treachery of Diamond, and what happened to Rose, the Taskmaster was at their limit. As they wiped their eyes of tears and composed themselves, Topaz stood up and teleported out of the chamber, as they appeared back in the main chamber of the Temple, they were greeted by a familiar sight, there was a Gemian standing before them, she was wearing a large white dress. As she looked to Topaz and smiled, the Taskmaster recognized her as Rose Quartz, their sister and, as of a month ago, was nearly killed by Diamond.
"Rose!" Topaz shouted as they hugged their sister. "You're recovered already? How?"
"You forget Topaz that I have healing tears, remember?" Rose explained with a smile. "Besides, this wasn't the first time Diamond nearly killed me before, or have you already forgotten?"
Topaz was relieved at Rose's recovery, but her attitude towards the situation was disturbing to them. Topaz saw the scarring around the base of her right arm, which was once torn off by the Old King before he beat and raped her. But now here she was before them, gathering weapons and putting them into the mane of Lion as he teleported through a portal and quickly returned before the Gemians.
"Rose…" Topaz said hesitantly as they approached her. "Can we talk about what happened on Homeworld? We need to have a plan to Diamond before he kills all of us."
Rose stopped as she held the Gem sword in her hands. Looking at it, she gave a faint smile as she gave the blade to Lion.
"I'm not going to kill him." Rose said as she turned to Topaz with a stern expression. "He doesn't deserve that."
Topaz looked in shock at what Rose had just said. Topaz felt the anger build within them as they approached their sister.
"Rose…Diamond betrayed us!" Topaz explained with an angry tone. "He turned the entirety of the Gems against us. He plans to build an army and wipe us all out! You know that he's not going to stop until we're all dead!"
"I know…" Rose replied as she looked at her arm. "But when I talked to him on Homeworld, before he…attacked me…I could feel something…wrong about him."
Topaz gave a skeptical glare as Rose continued.
"…it felt as if Diamond was trapped in some form of cage, but it wasn't a cage...it felt...alive." Rose continued. "Something is making Diamond this way, it's forcing him to turn on us."
"Rose…I know you still care for Diamond." Topaz said to their sister as they approached her and placed a hand on her shoulders. "But you can't deny the truth. Diamond has gone mad and turned on us. That…thing is not our brother anymore, just a monster. For Gemia's sake, he tore of your arm and raped you!"
Rose flinched as she placed her arm on her shoulder and felt the scar around her arm. She then looked to Lion and stroked his mane. Lion growled softly as he sat before his master.
"I...I can still feel there is still good in him." Rose argued as she picked up another weapon and placed it into Lion's mane. "I'm taking a group of Gems back to homeworld, we are going to find out what happened to Diamond and we're going to fix him."
Rose then watched as Topaz shook their head in disbelief as they rubbed their brow with their hands.
"Rose, listen to me!" Topaz sighed as they rubbed their face. "There is nothing we can fix. What you are doing is practically a suicide mission."
Rose then approached Topaz with a smile and extended her hand towards them. "So how about you join me then? Rose asked with a grin. "We are the "Kings of Three, aren't we."
Topaz looked to Rose's hand and then back to her. As they sighed and shook their head, they took Rose's hand and placed something in it as they close it up. Letting go of her hand, Topaz turned around and began to walk away. Rose looked at her sibling in confusion before her looked at her hand and opened it, gasping slightly as she saw Topaz's ring in her hand.
[*]
"We were never true kings of anything…" Topaz muttered as they continued to walk out of the temple and into the rainstorm. As thunder roared from above, Topaz looked back to the temple and felt the rain fall down their face, masking the tears that fell as well "…only fools following the call of madness."
Topaz snapped their fingers as Nilrem appeared beside them. As Topaz sat onto this familiar's back, they looked back and sighed.
"Forgive me Rose, but I can't do this anymore." Topaz said as Nilrem summoned a portal and began to walk through the portal. "Goodbye…and good luck."
With that, Topaz was gone, the Taskmaster of the Gemians was now far away from the planet and possibly, the Universe within it.
[*]
As Rose sat at a table and looked at the ring in her hand, she saw the portal open as a tall Gem with two Gems on her hands approached her and bow lightly.
"Master Quartz." The Gem addressed to her superior. "Everything is ready."
"There is no need for the formalities." Rose replied with a smile as she sat up from the table. "Especially since the Authority has been erasing all known knowledge of the Gemians, you might as well see me as a fellow Gem."
"Of course Mas…I mean…Rose Quartz…" the Gem acknowledged as she turned to the portal. "Everything is ready, we will begin the attack on your command."
Rose looked to her hand as she placed the ring of Topaz in her pocket as she summoned her sword and shield as she entered the portal.
[*]
Homeworld, present day
[*]
As she exited the portal, she was greeted by a large group of armored Gems, along with a little pink haired Pearl.
"Welcome Rose Quartz." A Gem greeted Rose as she approached the Gems. "Everything is as you planned, the Authority won't stand a chance against this ambush. Then it's straight shooting towards the Colony shipyard."
"Alright everyone, I can't lie to you and say that you will all survive whatever the Authority has in store for us, but at least we can fight to the last Gem." Rose said to her Gems as she created a projection of a planet in her hand. "Because today, we fight for a planet that is targeted for the next Kindergarten harvest. It's a unique planet known as Terra. We will beat the Authority there and defend the planet until their end…or ours."
Rose the raised her sword as she aimed it towards the Gems.
"Today my Gems, we face odds that many would call impossible. I cannot promise that all of you will see the end of this chaos, but remember this: not matter the outcome of this battle, we are proud to be protectors…to be servants of the Universe…to be protectors of the lives that live across the stars..."
As she looked behind her, she saw a pink flag with her shield on the front, Rose smiled as she turned back and shot her fist into the air.
"… WE ARE PROUD TO BE CRYSTAL GEMS!"
Rose felt the energy around her as the Gems before her cheered and applauded before they took arms and charged into the city.
As Rose entered the streets of the Homeworld, she looked up towards the main temple of the Diamond authority, remembering it as the Tribunal hub, where the Gemians once resided.
[*]
Temple of the Diamonds, present day
[*]
Three Diamonds walked into the temple and approached a figure meditating in the center. The Gemian then stood up and turned to the three Diamonds as they quickly bowed to him.
"It's done." Blue Diamond said as she looked to the ground. "All of the data about the Gemians and their interactions with the Universe is gone. We have replaced the Gem's archives with the falsified data you provided us. We also have begun "educating" our Gems with this new data."
Suddenly, there was a large rumbling as the whole temple shook.
"…and what of the attacks?" Master Diamond asked as he approached his servants. "I assume you are dealing with those as well."
"They are a simple rebellion Master." Yellow Diamond said as she looked up to her Master. "I have assembled the Diamond elite to handle them. If they manage to reach the Terra planet, then they will have find a terrible surprise awaiting them."
"Good, but you forget that Rose is a Gemians, which means I will have have to deal with her." Master Diamond said as he began to walk past them. "As of now, you will take command of Homeworld until I return, and if I do not…"
Master Diamond stopped as he turned to the lesser Diamonds
"…begin Operation: Kindergarten." Diamond continued as he looked to the Diamonds with a raised eyebrow.
The Diamonds saluted as they watched Diamond leave the temple. As he felt another explosion and saw a colony ship fly into the stars. He smiled at the sight before him.
"You can reach Terra before me Rose." Diamond said as he walked towards the Authority ships ready for launch. "But you will not save it."
[*]
Gem Colony Insidiae, prison sector, two thousand and seventeen years and seven months later
[*]
"So even then you truly believed you were doing the right thing?" Connie asked as she sharpened a bone with a small rock. "You never thought that all the death and all the torture, rape, and death was a big flashing light that you were the bad guy?"
"Ultimately I knew what I was doing was wrong, but the Obsidian…it made me feel like I was doing the right thing." Diamond explained as he meditated before the young Gem. "When you are possessed by the Obsidian, it takes your desires, your ambitions, your wants and needs, and warps them to fanatical proportions. What was difficult for me was that my purpose was to ensure the balance of the Universe, which was difficult because my siblings had no idea how to. Besides, our war with Metalians ultimately forced my hand, we would've lost without the Levithan's help."
"Uh-huh…" Connie replied as she continued to sharpen the bone. "But what about Pearl and your…"Secundos". Was Obsidian controlling them too?"
"No, they were being influenced by the essence of Obsidian only. However, the effects of the Ichor can vary and the host can actually reject said essence." Diamond continued as he pointed to his eyes. "You may have noticed that Vesti…*ahem*…Pearl at some point was shedding tears of a black acidic liquid.
"Yeah"…Connie said with a angry tone as she examined the bone and blew off the shavings before she approached the Old King and handed it to him. "...I distinctly remember seeing that happen when Pearl…cut me open and killed my kid."
As Diamond grabbed the sharpened bone in Connie's hand, he felt Connie's grip tighten as he looked up to the Gem, looking into her angry eyes as she released the bone and sat before Diamond, her back towards the Old King.
"If she was, then she was fighting the control of the Ichor." Diamond explained as he examined the bone. "To combat this, inflicting pain was necessary to stimulate Vitae production in a host , which feeds the Ichor and allows it to grow."
Connie scoffed as she turned around and lifted her long hair to Diamond, who then held it up as placed the sharpened bone to towards it.
"So I guess here comes the part where Rose defeats you and then you sic Pearl on her?" Connie asked as she felt her hair being cut off."
"Correct…somewhat." Diamond replied as he cut the sharp bone through his inmate's hair. "Pearl was supposed to be a spy and she didn't act up until after Rose killed me."
Connie looked to Diamond with a surprised expression before she straightened back up, allowing Diamond to continue.
"I thought you said that Gemians can't kill other Gemians..." Connie asked the Old King. "...or be killed period?"
"We can't…" Diamond said as he raised the bone above Connie's head. "…but that didn't stop Rose from finding a way. Now hold still…"
[*]
Terra planet, Beachside, two thousand and seventeen years and three months ago
[*]
Rose walked through the sandy beaches of the ocean as she looked at the orange sky above her. The fighting has been rough for her rebellion and already, several thousand Gems were already lost to the Authority. As Rose sighed, she turned to see Pearl running towards her with a small black crystal in her hand.
"Rose!" Pearl shouted as she handed the crystal to her leader. "This fell from the sky and it told tell me to tell you to go to the large hill at the following coordinates."
Rose watched as Pearl handed her a small parchment with the location written on them. As she took the crystal, she felt a familiar disturbance, a feeling she had not felt since…
"Thank you Pearl, you have been so helpful." Rose commented as she patted Pearl on the head. "Take the others to the Kindergartens and deal with them accordingly, and please try not to be the big hero this time, okay?"
"Understood…" Pearl said before she noticed that Rose was running in the opposite direction. "Rose, where are you going?"
"I have to deal with some unfinished business." Rose replied with a smile. "I'll be fine, go deal with the Kindergartens."
Pearl nodded as she began to catch up with the others, as she stopped for a minute, she looked around and then she closed her eyes.
"It's done Master." Pearl said as she walked towards the other Gems "She is on your way as we speak."
"Good." The cold voice of Diamond replied through the young Gem's mind. "Keep the other's busy and activate the canyon Kindergarten. This will be quick."
Pearl nodded as she arrived among the other Gems. A small smile stretch across her face as she felt a black burning tear trickle down her cheek.
[*]
Terra planet, hillside, present day
[*]
As Rose arrived at the hill, she began to see flowers blowing along the warm breeze. As she stopped and grabbed one, she saw that they had Gems in the center. Rose looked around in confusion as she saw the large tree on top of a large hill. As she ran up towards it, she then noticed several wilted and dead flowers on the ground. She then saw Diamond standing before the tree, facing the setting sun as he held a flower in his hand. Rose then saw the flower quickly wilt in his hand.
"It seems you are the exemplar of life. As I am death." Diamond said as he approached Rose, a small smile was on his face as he presented the dead flower towards her. "However, you are nothing more than a beautiful lie, and I am the horrible truth."
"Diamond, that's not true." Rose said as she slowly approached her brother. "You're not evil."
"Of course not you insipiens!" Diamond shouted as he clenched his fist before Rose, crushing the dead flower in his palm. "I am the savior of the Universe, I am doing what mother wanted me to do!"
"To kill millions? To enslave billions?"" Rose asked. "Does that truly sound like peace?"
Diamond hesitated and paced a few times before he turned towards Rose and summoned his mace.
"Yes! I have seen the horrible truth about the Universe, and I will purge the evil from it!" Diamond roared as he charged towards Rose. "Starting with you, my little sister!"
Rose quickly summoned her shield and held it up to black Diamond's mace. As the weapons collided, the resulting impact knocked Rose back and knocked her shield off her arm. As she staggered up and ran towards it, she saw Diamond appear before her and she then felt the pain of a large head of Diamond's mace smash into her chest. Rose gasped and staggered as she fell to her knees and hacked up some blood before she looked up to Diamond standing before her.
"This is pointless Rose, you can't defeat me." Diamond explained as he knelt towards her. "If you want to win, you will have to kill me, and we both know that is impossible."
"I didn't come here to kill you Diamond." Rose corrected as she summoned she shield and rolled back. "I came here to save you."
"Save me...?" Diamond scoffed. "Save me from what? I am the one saving this Universe from corruption and evil. Not You!"
"Diamond, this isn't you." Rose explained as she lowered her weapons once more. "I know something has damaged you and I promised you that I would protect you, no matter what."
Diamond's eyes widened as he was taken aback by the response. In that instant, a memory flashed in his mind.
[*]
"Rose, I'm going to tell you something I never told anyone, not even Topaz." Diamond said to Rose. "I'm supposed to embody the strength and power of Gemia and be the exemplar of fear…"
Diamond stopped and paused, his mouth was agape and his eyes widened before he looked to Rose. She then saw tears forming in his eyes.
"…but not one day has gone by that I haven't been terrified by the thought that I won't be strong enough to protect this Universe, or those within it. I just…I'm scared that what we are doing is not enough, or it isn't want Gemia wanted…I…just want to see her again, to know what my purpose is!"
"Diamond…" Rose said as she saw Diamond's hands clench up, she could feel the fear flowing through her brother. He was the strongest and the most feared of the three Gemians, but not once since her birth did she ever see Diamond like this."
"I….fear that I'll fail you, and Topaz, and Pearl and Sapphire, and everyone else. I fear that I'll screw up and…I'll ruin everything…I'll make a mistake so huge, that I won't be able to fix it. I fear that…I'll do something so terrible that…."
Diamond gritted his teeth and growled as he smashed the ground with his fist. He then covered his face with his hands and began to weep.
"I'm so scared Rose…so scared…."
"Oh Diamond…" Rose exclaimed as she sat up and cradled the Old King in her arms. "You could never do anything to make me hate you."
Diamond looked to Rose with eyes flowing with tears. She smiled as she wiped tears from his eyes and kissed his forehead.
"Listen to me Dimey: I will always forgive you, no matter what." Rose explained as she looked into the Old King's eyes. "I promise you here and now, you will never be alone, for I'll be here for you. You are my brother, and I'll protect you from anything, just as you have for me."
[*]
Diamond took several steps back as he shook his head in shock and anger.
"No…that's a lie!" Diamond shouted as he raised his mace and charged towards Rose, clashing blade and mace together as the Old King glared into the eyes of his sister. "You cannot be ...I...I turned on you. I destroyed your home, twice. You…you can't…"
With Diamond distracted, Rose parried the mace out of Diamond's hand, Diamond then jumped back and summoned his mace back into his hand. He then raised the mace and slammed it onto the ground, causing a large ripped of earth to shake and knock back Rose. Diamond then lunged forwards and extended his arm and fired a blast of energy at Rose, who blocked it with her shield. Diamond continued to fire blasts of energy at his sister, slowly knocking her back as the attacks struck her shield. Eventually, the attacks stopped and Rose lowered her shield, noticing the Old King looking at his hands with a dreadful scowl.
"Even after I… hurt you...fed off your Vitae, even after that…" Diamond choked as he looked to Rose with tear filled eyes. "…you still wish to "save" me?"
"Of course." Rose replied with a smile. "You're my brother, and you always will be, and I know that I can save you, you just have to trust me."
Diamond hesitated as he turned away from Rose, looking up at the tree at the top of the hill.
"You don't have to continue down this path Diamond. I can help you." Rose explained as she slowly approached her brother. "I know that something happened to you to change you into this. But you don't have to become a monster. You still have a choice, you always have."
Diamond looked to Rose for a moment, looking away towards a column of smoke that was appearing in the distance, knowing that it was from one of the kindergartens that Rose's army was attacking. He then glanced back to Rose before he looked back to the smoke.
"I…I can't Rose, I just…I just can't…." Diamond whispered as a black tear fell down his face. "It's too late to save me."
Diamond then turned to Rose and summoned his mace. Rose then raised her sword and shield as she felt tears form in her eyes.
"However, if I am to become a monster…." Diamond hissed as he summoned a black sickle in his free hand. "…then I shall become the King of Monsters."
"Diamond, you still have a choice." Rose pleaded as she summoned her shield and sword. "Whatever happened to you is not your fault, you made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes."
"I do not make mistakes Rose…" Diamond replied as he lunged at Rose with mace and sickle in hand. "…I erase them!"
[*]
Terra planet, Beachside, hours later
[*]
There was peace on this section of the planet, the calm soft waves gently washed up onto the white sandy shores. However, this peace was short lived as a pink haired Gemian crashed into the beach like an asteroid. As she staggered up, she walked out of the crater of sand and glass and rearmed herself. Only to be tackled from the left and then slammed into the ground. As Diamond shoved her into the ground, he stood up and recalled his mace to slam into the Pink Gemian, only for Rose to slide under Diamond and avoid his attack. Rose quickly stood up and grabbed Diamond from the back and pulled him up, slamming his head into the ground behind her. Rose then stood up and brushed herself off, only for Diamond to quickly leap upward to grab her and tackle her into the side of a cliff. As Diamond held Rose by the throat, he summoned his black sickle and aimed it at his sister's neck.
"It's over Rose! I have won!" Diamond growled as he placed the blade of the sickle to Rose's neck. "I have forgotten how great it was to fight a true opponent. Thank you."
Rose summoned her blade in a attempt to attack him, but Diamond quickly kicked Rose's sword from her hand and impaled her in the shoulder with his sickle. Rose yelped in pain as Diamond grabbed her face and exposed her neck.
"However, you know that I need to do this." Diamond said softly as his jaw began to split open. "or...ive...e."
As Rose closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she opened her eyes to face her brother, only to see he had a large spearl planted into his shoulder before he flew into an adjacent rock pile. Rose then saw Pearl standing before her, her clothing was ripped and damaged but she was still able to fight, given what she had just done to Diamond.
"Pearl!" Rose chimed as she tried to pull the sickle out of her shoulder, only the weapon was stuck within the rock. "Help me! I'm stuck!"
"Rose! I'm coming!" Pearl said as she turned towards Rose, only to have Diamond suddenly appear right before the Gem fusion.
"Proditor audiret!"
As he stood up and approached Pearl, Diamond watched the little Gem cower before him. Diamond then jumped between them and kicked Pearl into a wall. He then approached them little Gem who looked up to her attacker before she fell on her back and was looking at the Gemian with sheer terror in his eyes.
"I made a mistake by creating you." Diamond said as he tightened his grip on Pearl's head and lifting her into the air. "I believe now would be a good time to correct that."
"Let...me...go!" Pearl gasped as she tried to summon spear, but Diamond simply grabbed her arm and snapped it, causing the long nosed Gem to howl in pain.
"PEARL!" Rose shouted as she watched in horror, she then looked to the sickle in her shoulder.
Rose grabbed the sickle and pulled as hard as she could.
Diamond then pulled Pearl closer to himself. tilting her head back as he split his jaw open to bite down onto Pearl's neck.
Rose pulled harder and harder, feeling the blade begin to become loose and slowly pull out.
Diamond brought Pearl closer as he used his other hand to hold her neck still.
Rose grunted in pain as she continued to yank the sickle out of her shoulder. With a mighty thrust and a roar, she pulled the weapon out and jungled at Diamond.
The Old King looked up and saw his sister charge at him, blade in hand and already about to bring the sword down on him. Diamond then quickly threw Pearl at Rose, who dodged the attack and jumped up above Diamond. The Old King quickly summoned his mace and used it to block Rose's attack , creating a large pulse of energy as the two clashed blades. As Pearl coughed and stood up, she limped over to behind a rock as she then looked over to witness the battle between the Old King and his sister.
Diamond pressed forward, pushing his mace towards Rose. However, as Rose felt her her body press against a boulder, she quickly turned the sickle, and locked the blade in place upon the head of the mace. This allowed her to push forwards and regain her footing.
"This is pointless Rose!" Diamond hissed as he pressed forward against Rose. "I am the true savior of the Universe. I cannot die! I will not die! Not by you, not by the Gems, not by anyone!"
With that, Diamond took one of his hands off his mace and began collecting energy in his palm as soon as he had collected enough, he pulled his arm back, holding the ball of dark energy in his hand.
"You will not forsake my judgement!" Diamond screamed as he fired the energy ball at Rose, only for her to quickly pull the sickle and mace before the attack. Diamond and Rose watched as the energy attack dissipated as it struck the sickle and mace.
At that moment, there was a loud crack as the sickle's blade cracked and within that instant, there was a large explosion of dark light. As Rose felt her body get thrown back and land onto the ground with a violent thud. her head spin as she sat up and rubbed her head. As she looked around at the beachside, damaged and broken from the fighting, she then saw Diamond stagger towards her, his robe was dirty and ripped, his face was cut and bleeding blue blood, and he had his mace in his hand. Rose tried to stand up, but she felt a large pain in her leg as she saw a large broken hilt of the black sickle from earlier sticking out of her leg. As she watched Diamond approach her, she tried to pull the hilt out of her leg, but it would not budge. Rose then quickly summoned her shield, only for Diamond to kick it out of her hand and push her back with his foot. Diamond gasped as he limped towards Rose and raised his mace into the air, giving a light smile of apparent victory as he began to bring it down upon her.
Suddenly, Diamond felt his mace disappear from his hand in a quick cloud of smoke. Diamond looked to Rose with confusion as he felt his whole arm fall off his body and onto the ground with a small thud. Diamond and Rose watched the arm fall to the ground, the crystal Diamond in the shoulder went dim. Diamond then looked at the arm and then saw two trail of blue blood behind him, leading up to a pair of broken sickle blades that were soaked in blue blood. Diamond then looked down to the ground before him and saw several blue droplets of blood fall from his face onto the sand below.
Diamond then looked up to Rose with a mixed expression of shock and fear. While Rose covered her mouth with her hands in shock as the wounded Diamond just stood there before her, blood began to trickle from his mouth and nose.
"Rose…" Diamond muttered as he spat blue blood from his mouth. "...what have you done to me?"
Rose watched with tear filled eyes as shortly after Diamond spoke, a blue line appeared from the left side of his face and down the center of his left eye. In that instant, the portion of the left side of his head slid off the rest of his head and fell to the ground with a wet thud and a splash of blue blood. Diamond then fell onto his knees, wobbling for a few seconds before he fell onto the right side of his body. As his body laid on the wet sand, there was the sound of a strained sigh as black smoke began to pour from Diamond's mouth. After a few seconds, the smoke was gone and everything was silent once more, with only sound being the waves splashing onto the beach side and the calm breeze in the air.
Rose slowly sat up and approached Diamond's body, looking at the cut off arm and the sliced off portion of his head as well as the rest of his body. She then crouched down and closed Diamond's remaining eye before she sat beside his corpse and looked onto the ocean before them. Rose then noticed a lone dead Gem flower in the ocean wash beside her. As she picked it up, she watched it bloom to life in her hand. As she let go of the flower and watched it float away in the breeze, she then closed her eyes took a deep waverly breath as tears began to flow from her eyes. She then noticed a small group of Gems, approached Rose, they saw the body of Diamond and gasped lightly.
"It's done." Rose said as she continued to look at the ocean. "We'll return to Homeworld and speak of this to no one. Is that clear?
Pearl watched as the wounded Pearl walked up to Rose, nodded to her, and walked away with the other Gems. As the Gems walked away from the beach, Pearl stopped and looked back to Rose, who was still staring at the ocean.
"Rose…" Pearl said as she approached the Pink Gem. "Are you alright?"
"Am I all right?" Rose restated calmly, pausing for a moment before she looked to Pearl, who saw tears flowing from the eyes of her leader as she bore a broken smile.
"No Pearl, I'm not alright…"
"…my brother just died…"
[*]
