Chapter 10. I was mulling this over a bit, whether or not I should continue this, but the truth is I never intended to leave it as is, I bamboozled you all!

I don't own Steven Universe.

Chapter 10: The Return

One week after Earth's destruction…

Amethyst walked quietly behind the agate as she led her towards the center of the tower. The young gem saw the main platform and her mind wandered again. Why had White Diamond summoned her?

She looked to the agate who was leading her through the spire, but the grey-white gem paid her little heed as she kept her eyes focused forward.

They began to rise but when Amethyst expected the platform to stop at the entrance to the throne room, it didn't. Instead, it continued to rise until the lift had gone as far as it could, the very top of the tower. The doors before amethyst seemed ornately decorated with swirling lines and strange shapes, whomever had made it was to be commended for their talent, the art seeming almost alive on the door.

The agate turned to her, gazing downwards and gave a small shove. Enough to force Amethyst off the platform, but not enough to indicate any malice behind the action. The purple gem turned to the grey-white one and spoke. "Do I-?"

"Knock on the door. Announce yourself. She awaits you." The agate cut off, robotically before she began to descend out of sight.

The young gem turned back to the door, it being massive compared to her and gave a polite knock.

Knock knock…

There was silence and after a few seconds she wondered if she should knock harder to be heard. But just as she reached to try again, the doors slowly opened inward and Amethyst beheld a massive room, White Diamond personal chambers she realized. She took a few tentative steps in and looked around. Everything was neat, clean, sterile, and pure. Not a single thing out of place. She could not see White Diamond, and was about to call out when she heard from a distance away.

"Come in." The smooth wizened voice of the first gem she'd even seen called out.

Amethyst took a few more steps. Still feeling unsure of herself, but allowed herself to relax with each footfall. She didn't want to seem overly nervous after all, it might send a bad impression.

"I'm over here." The voice called out.

The young gems followed it to its source, crossing the room to its farthest side and finding an opening balcony. Standing on its edge and leaning against the railing was White Diamond. Amethyst stopped at the doorway and simply watched White Diamond who was facing away from her and looking upon the planet-scape below. The night had fallen and the city below glowed softly, creating a picturesque landscape.

"Amethyst Cut 8XM, reporting my Diamond. It is an honor to be in your glorious presence." She said, practicing the rehearsed compliments.

White Diamond did not turn to meet her gaze, still staring out. "Is it now?" she asked. The quartz briefly wondered if she was asking her or simply voiced her thoughts for a brief moment. The answer was clear though as White Diamond spoke again. "Forgive me, if I seem distracted. I've just been… dwelling… on things."

The quartz approached, coming closer to the railing which was over four times her height, the gaps between the bars holding up the railing nearly twice her width. "No, please, if anyone should be saying sorry it's me."

White Diamond broke her gaze from the city-scape and looked down on her. "Oh? Have you done something wrong?"

"Not… that I know of?" The quartz replied like a question.

White gave a little smile. "Well then. Let's hope there aren't any you don't know of, eh?" She gave a lighthearted chuckle.

Amethyst gave a smile, allowing herself to relax a bit when White Diamond lowered her hand to her level. She motioned with a single finger for her to move forward onto the hand and Amethyst did so, stepping onto her palm. "My Diamond, I must ask, why was I summoned here?"

White Diamond looked down to her, considering her question, then returned her gaze outwards. "Let me ask you, Amethyst 8XM, what do you see?" She asked, motioning to the metropolis below.

The quartz thought this was some sort of test, that White Diamond was passing judgement on her that would depend entirely on her answer. So, Amethyst paused for a few minutes, attempting to come up with the most eloquent way to put things. "The architecture is… very good… and the… uh… aesthetics are very… pleasing…?"

White Diamond returned her gaze to Amethyst and eyed her for a good long time. "You know, it will be easier to just say exactly what you mean instead of trying to impress me."

A blush spread across the quartzes face and White Diamond chuckled once more. "Go on. Tell me what you really think."

"It's beautiful, my Diamond. And so breathtakingly big, and complex it makes me feel…" She paused then shook her head. "I don't even know what."

The Diamond's small smile grew a little more. "I see. It's fascinating to hear that."

"It… is?"

White nodded. "Of course." She then set Amethyst down on the railing, and allowed herself to lean against it. "You see Amethyst 8XM, I'm old, very old. I can still remember when this planet was all any gem had ever known. When the cities weren't built and the ground could still be seen." She shifted her posture, becoming a little more informal. "You see, I've been looking for something recently."

"What is it you're looking for, my Diamond?" she asked, unsure about the sudden subject change.

"Perspective."

Amethyst gave a confused look and White continued. "I'm looking for perspective, a new one, someone who can help me see things with fresh eyes."

"And how can I help with that?" The quartz asked.

"You just did." White replied. "I see things as they were, more than as they are. But you? You're still fresh from the ground. You don't have any background or bias to distract you from what you're seeing. And I need that."

The confusion on Amethyst's face grew. "What… exactly are you saying, my Diamond?"

"I want you by my side, and see things for me with that fresh perspective of yours." White said.

Amethyst was practically stunned into silence. "I don't know what to say… you want me by your side?"

"Yes, you will be my… oh, let's say 'bodyguard' to keep things nice and official. So, what do you say? Are those agreeable terms to you?" she asked.

"I would be honored!" Amethyst practically shouted. "…my Diamond." She added quickly.

"Oh, my dear, drop the formalities. We won't have any need of them between us." White said with a genuine smile.

Amethyst returned it with a grin as wide as her face.

Quite some time later…

How long had it been…?

She had no way of telling, nothing to use, to measure, the passage of time. Had it been weeks? Years? Decades? She did not know.

All she did know was that it had felt like eons.

Eons drifting, well hurtling really, far away from the galaxy into the great vast void that existed between galaxies. An endless expanse of blackness lain before her, her only light coming from the galaxy she was steadily getting farther away from.

Speaking of time, Pink Diamond really had no way of passing it either. She'd managed to free herself from total bondage of the asteroid White Diamond had chained her to, but not from the shackles themselves. When she'd finally tugged her limbs free one at a time from their places deep inside the space rock, she'd nearly ripped it in half trying to break free. Now she simply sat on the asteroid, hands and feet still encased within the bracelets her eldest sister had so kindly bestowed upon her before her banishment from the galaxy itself.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. There was one way Pink had found to occupy her time.

Thinking.

And my oh my, did she have time to simply think about things,

She often thought of the rebellion, of her friends. How they likely thought her shattered and gone forever, and rightfully s, all things considered. They had no way of knowing that Pink had survived the Station's attack, only to be sentenced to this sojourn through dark space. Moreover, she had no way to contact them to tell them what had happened or where she was now. It was likely she'd never see them again, a thought that saddened her greatly.

Sometimes her mind would drift to Blue and Yellow Diamond, going through scenarios in her head where she could have handled things better. How she could have worked harder to show them a better way or to at least understand where Pink was coming from. But, she knew the truth in her heart, she had tried her best, she had given her sisters every reason to try and spare the Earth. The simple fact was that they didn't care.

She had been closest to Blue Diamond; someone she thought for sure would be on her side, or at the very least not try and fight against her. But when push came to shove, they had clashed and Pink had struck her down. She still remembered Blue's last words to her. So full of rage and betrayal. Now she was gone for good, and Pink would never have the chance to… to…

To what…? She wondered to herself. Forgive her? Apologize to her? Pink didn't really know, she only wished things could go back to how they used to be. The two of them smiling together again, enjoying each other's company. But those days were long gone, and they were never coming back.

When it came to Yellow on the other hand, she and Pink had never been terribly close. Nevertheless, something about Yellow Diamond had always made Pink respect her deeply. Even when Pink Diamond disagreed with her, Yellow's decisions and actions always had a sort of logic to them that Pink could admire. She didn't do things out of spite or sentimentality; she did them because they were the best thing, in her eyes if no one else's, to do, not just for herself, but the empire at large. It was only when someone went against her logic that Yellow began to act more… erratically. Now she too was gone. Pink's gaze momentarily went to her own gem in her stomach. Except, in a way she wasn't, no thanks to White Diamond.

White Diamond…

Pink's eyes narrowed and her jaw grew tight as she gritted her teeth. Her eldest sister, one who'd Pink had always looked up to, idolized even on some level, the one other Diamond she though would understand why Pink had done what she did. The same gem who had destroyed her sisters and cast Pink off into the great empty nothingness between galaxies.

The same sister who had destroyed the very foundation of the rebellion by taking out the Earth and Pink herself.

The rebellion must have been in complete disarray if not entirely wiped out by now. Pink supposed either Rose or Flint had taken over in her absence. Or perhaps Onyx…? No wait, Onyx had been stationed on Earth and if Earth was gone…

Pink shut her eyes tightly in despair and buried her head in her arms, fresh tears and not the first one since her banishment, began to flow. She could do nothing now, not even end her own sorrowful existence. But just as quickly as tears of sorrow had begun to fall so too did tears of frustration and rage. She had never known hatred for any being, but she was sure that must have been what she felt for her eldest sister now. Hate. Burning within Pink like a newly born star. She seethed with all her being on that floating space rock, wishing nothing more than to see White Diamond destroyed, her shards scattered to the galactic winds...

No… not destroyed… she wanted her to suffer. She wanted White Diamond in pain, in agony.

But the truth was, Pink was powerless, helpless to do anything anymore. There were even times she thought she was going crazy. In that last few… let's just call them days, Pink had heard something, but it was like a whisper coming across a great distance, she could only make out that it was there, rather than anything near coherency like a message.

Speaking of which…

Pink Diamond heard it again, though even in the total silence of space, it was still a task to even be sure she was hearing something. Then, in less than a second…

It got loud.

"…IIIINNNKK!" The voice sounded, causing Pink to snap out of her depressed trance and suddenly jump back. Given the relatively small amount of space upon which Pink had to stand, if it could be called that, considering the shackles encasing her feet, she nearly fell off the asteroid. Instead she just fell backwards and tumbled a bit before coming to a stop on her back.

Pink quickly sat up, shaking her head. What… was that? It had come in gone in a blink of an eye but… it was like a flash of lightning.

The young Diamond tried to move, scooting around on her butt as she navigated the floating space rock. After momentary investigation, she was sure she was alone, but then what had been that...?

"PINK!" The voice called out. Pink saw another flash, but it lasted for a moment longer this time before disappearing, allowing for a better look. The flash had a distinct form, tall and yellow, wearing a jacket with pointed shoulders over a body suit.

There was no question on who the figure was.

"…Yellow…?" Pink said, barely above a whisper. She hadn't spoken aloud in quite a while, the sound of her own voice almost alien to her, coming out dry and hoarse. She looked around again, trying to catch a glimpse of her ghostly sister.

"Yellow! Yellow! Is that you?!" Pink called out. She waited listening, waiting… and then…

"Pink!" The young Diamond turned her head around seeing her sister, Yellow Diamond, before her. But the form before her was strange indeed. She was outlined in a yellow aura, appearing see-through at the center of her torso and limbs. The aura was brightest at her head and slowly faded away as it made her way down her body, her boots nearly invisible to the eye. Her eyes were hollow except for her pupils, shining brightly like twin orbs of fire within her head, giving her gaze an unnatural ethereal edge.

"Yellow…" Pink said again, not really believing her own eyes. "Is… is it really you…?"

Yellow raised one of her arms up and gazed at it, turning it around again and again, thoroughly inspecting it. "Yes… and no." She put her arm down and clasped her hands behind her back in a formal way.

"What… are you?" Pink asked still reeling from the shock.

"I don't know. I still exist thanks to you, but only just." Yellow said motioning to Pink's gem, causing Pink to glance down at it before returning her gaze to her sister. "I have no physical form, but… I am here."

"No physical…? But you're standing right here." Pink said, coming to terms with the situation around her.

The wraith before her raised a brow. "Am I?" She knelt down and reached towards the ground, her hand disappearing in the rock. She stood back up, straight and turned her gaze back to her sister. "I can't touch anything beyond standing here before you."

Pink's worried look never left her face. "Why are you here?"

Yellow narrowed her eyes. "Because there is a gem out there who betrayed me-us, Pink. A Diamond who destroyed me and Blue and doomed you to an eternity in oblivion."

Pink's gaze became hard as she though again on the focus of her anger. "White Diamond…" she fumed.

Yellow nodded. "Precisely. She has wronged the both of us, and she must pay." She walked closer, touching Pink on her shoulder. The two looked eyes. "I feel it Pink, the anger you have towards her. The rage. I know because I feel it too." She began to walk away, pacing around the asteroid's surface. "She destroyed me, tossed me aside like I was nothing." The glow around Yellow seemed to intensify and Pink could feel her anger too. "I will pay her back for what she's done." The anger dissipated and she turned back to Pink. "But for that, I'll need you."

"You fought against me! You tried to destroy me!" Pink shouted her voice twisting in rage.

Yellow remained calm. "I did." She said simply. "And White tried to destroy the both of us. And with me, she succeeded." She gave a sort of quizzical look to Pink. "I want revenge Pink, but I have no means to do it, not without you. If you don't trust me, fine. But at least trust in that."

Pink considered it for a moment. Yellow was smart, logical, and right now that only person Pink had talked to in however long she'd been out here, if she wasn't some sort of hallucination. If there was one thing Pink could count on it was Yellow's temper which was now focused squarely on White Diamond. She could use that, and she might as well, considering it was trust Yellow for now, or continue to float off into the abyss.

Pink sighed. "I guess I don't really have a choice."

Yellow smiled coyly. "Don't sound so disappointed Pink. Your fate and mine are entwined now."

"So, how do you propose we get out of this?" Pink asked gesturing to their surroundings.

Yellow walked back over and crouched down looking at the shackles. "We'll need to do away with these first." She then stood back to her full height. "You'll need to use my power to break them."

"Your power? But how?" Pink asked looking down at her hands.

"Our gems have become one Pink, your power and mine are one and the same now. You need to call upon it and free yourself." Yellow gestured towards her center. "Draw up the power from within, and let it burst forth."

Pink tried to do as she was told. She closed her eyes and concentrated.

Nothing.

She opened her eyes and looked to Yellow for guidance. "Don't give up. You need to keep trying. After all its not like we're going anywhere until you do."

"You can't give more constructive advice than that?" Pink asked.

Yellow simply gave her disapproving frown Pink had come to know. She sighed and tried again. At first she felt nothing, but then she heard a small spark of electrical discharge and then another and another. She could feel it rising within her as the air around her grew electrically charged. Pink opened her eyes to see sparks flying from herself, she looked to Yellow who stood nearby, a satisfied look upon her face.

"Good!" Yellow said, looking more and more excited at the growing possibilities before her. "Now, you need to concentrate it in your palms, let it build up, and then release."

Pink did as she was instructed, she closed her eyes again and imagined the energy gathering within her palms. She soon felt the electricity building up there, more and more was building up. She could feel the power swell, and then.

BOO-GERT

The muffled sound echoed within the shackles and their grip greatly loosened. They easily slipped from Pink's writs and fell to the ground. Pink rubbed them for good measure and looked over to Yellow who was looking positively ecstatic. "Well done." Yellow said with a small clap.

Pink actually felt herself smile, it had been so long that the gesture felt both familiar and strange. She then looked down to her feet still encased.

Yellow was practically reading her thoughts. "Now, summon my sword!" she said. Then you can easily dispatch of these restraints."

Pink did as she was told. Listening as Yellow advised her from the side on how to bring it forth. "Concentrate! Imagine the electricity you create is the blade!"

The air around Pink's open palm crackled as she felt the power gather. Soon arcs of energy were flying this way and that. But then began to draw closer together and the burst became less erratic until Pink at last found herself holding her elder sister's sword. "Good! Well done! Now shatter the shackles!" Yellow commanded. Pink did just that, her full freedom acquired at last as the last of her captive limbs gained their independence.

Pink finally for the first time in ages, stood up on her own feet. She stretched and jumped on one foot to another, then jogged in place before turning to look at Yellow. "Thank you." She said.

Yellow shook her head. "Don't thank me yet, we're still stuck here… but not for long." She then pointed to the far side of the asteroid. "Go stand over there." She said.

"I assume you have a plan?" asked Pink.

"Don't I always?' Yellow replied as she walked side by side with her sister, the two of them now at perfect eye level with one another. Yellow then pointed to the sky. "Now aim a blast up high, and fire it?" Pink gave a quizzical look and Yellow sighed. "The propulsion of the blast should cause us to start going back the other way."

Pink nodded and held her two hands up. Her palms glowed and suddenly a stream burst forth, its sudden force causing Pink to take an involuntary step back. She saw the yellow energy shoot off into space before disappearing into nothingness.

"You need to give it more!" Yellow said over the blast that Pink was trying to maintain.

Pink did as she was told and poured even more into it, the stream becoming a raging torrent of electricity. Suddenly Pink stopped, dropping to her knees in exhaustion. Yellow walked over to her. "Are you alright?" she asked.

Pink was a little bit surprised at Yellow's concern. "I'm… I'm fine. It's just that was draining is all."

Yellow gave a hmm and walked off to look over the asteroid's edge. "Well, that seems to have at least been enough to change direction, but we're moving slower than we were before." She turned to look at Pink. "I need you to do it again.

"Pink looked at her with an incredulous look. "Again? Are you kidding?"

Yellow crossed her arms. "I am not. If you want to get back to the galaxy, we're going to need a lot more force than that." She shifted her weight onto one foot and put a hand to her chin. "Besides, you're still new to my power, you need to grow accustomed to using it until it's like second nature to you. Unless you're planning on facing our sister in battle without it." Pink said nothing and Yellow nodded once. "That's what I thought."

Some more time later…

Yep no doubt about it, this had to be the worst job in the Empire.

Well okay maybe not the worst but the most boring at least.

I mean I've been out here for stars knows how long, and for what? Talking about Morganite behind her back? Hardly seems fair.

These thoughts and others ran through the quartz gem know as Citrine as she was busy scanning asteroids in the farthest reaches of the galaxy. She'd made one simple comment about command and then bam rock survey duty. And she knew it was personal to, because while they were supposed to be on random rotations to keep things fair, somehow she'd gotten stuck out here for the past five rotations in a row, in other words ever since she'd made the comment. She wondered who sold her out, probably that Amethyst that was walking around. The little slag was always poking her nose where it shouldn't belong. It could be worse she supposed, but not by much.

There, she'd finally finished scanning this one. Just a few more and she'd be done for the day, she thought. Citrine walked back to board her craft for the next rock.

She'd just hopped in and started the ship up when an alert came from the craft. She quickly accessed it and saw a massive energy spike, heading her way. "What in the cosmos…?" she wondered aloud. It looked to be about seventy clicks and closing fast. And it was coming… She paused at that reading. It was coming from outside the galaxy.

She departed from her raft, a pair of macrobinoculars in her hand. She looked off and saw it. A large asteroid… that was shooting lightning out of its back…

…what?

Citrine took the macrobinoculars and knocked them against her hand for a second. There was no way that was true. She put them back to her eyes and looked out and… yep that was definitely a giant space rock propelling itself with lightning.

Wait…

She adjusted the zoom and got a better look on its surface. There was a figure there, standing. She couldn't make out details but, there was definitely someone riding a lightning-shooting asteroid coming right this way.

So much for boring…

Fun times, I'm back, see ya later…