The following cycle pearl decided to focus on her gem. It had finally slowed down so she could spare the time. Pearl's eyes shifted up to her diamond, who was busy typing something. Pearl observed how the pink gem was pouting in concentration. It was a good time, she wasn't needed.
It still meant she had a lot of work to do... Most of which was at the moment connected to the previous cycle, to yesterday.
After the ... bath... her body felt so good, and energetic. After the bath most her Diamond and Pearl did was exchange looks and smile at each other. It felt like neither wanted to make or do something that would make something else happen. It wasn't unusual for master and pearl not to speak with each other for a few cycles or more... pearls were there when needed... when not they were put aside...
Yet... that would assume Pink Diamond was a usual master...Definitely was not.
Which left Pearl with no real idea...
The feeling of... confusion was not helped with the questions Pearl had now. After the bath Pearl had a bunch of question about and to her Diamond. She didn't ask them. She had so many things she wanted to ask and to know. Did she heal gems before to know how a hurt gem healing sounded? Did she do this with the previous Pearl?... It was so not allowed for any gem to get in the direct contact with a diamond extract. It was supposed to be really bad for the already formed gem, the lower the gem the worse the effect… Pearls were quite low, being just an object and on occasion, storing or entertainment tool... Only special gem tools, made on diamond request would be safe from the bad effects... Even so, nothing bad happened to her, everything was better! So many things not asked.
Yet.
Yet, she agreed. The questions became sorted in her mind, her focus easily sliding to the top problem. First was to understand the mess in her gem from the archive raid. Pearl's eyes shifted back to her Diamond, who was still diligently pouting at the screen and now deleting half a screen of the previously typed work.
Pearl closed her eyes and focused on the mess in her gem. Except it didn't feel like a mess anymore. Could the... bath ... have healed that too? Yet, it started to feel better sometime before the bath... didn't it? Or did she imagine that? Why would it feel better on its own? She had to understand. Pearl needed to do this, or how else was she to help Pink if she was not fully focused on her. After one last check on her Diamond, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to feel into her gem. Like when she was looking through what was stored in her. Reaching out for the information. Awaiting to feel the buzz of data and the energy of about to be formed holograms. She opened her eyes. She was...
White place.
A perfectly white and clean and smooth place.
It was spacious and well lit.
It was completely empty.
"Why?"
Her own voice came as a surprise. She had a voice when ... which didn't make any sense. There was no need for a voice in her own gem. To what would she use it even?
Light steps, a sound that reached Pearl's ears. The sound that wasn't bound to any memory stored in her. A sound made inside her Pearl. Why? Who would hear it? Pearl looked down at herself, she was having an appearance. She had a body in this white place. Why?
Why would she ever need an appearance in her gem? Who was gonna see her in here?
The owner of those steps?
The thought felt like a vibration. As if the words were whispered with a smirk at her ear. The light steps stopped. Pearl raised her head.
The steps belonging to herself, but she was not over there. She was over here. The Pearl in front of her nodded. "Request to describe this situation, accepted." The Pearl in front of Pearl spoke, and with perfect Pearl-like elegance turned away, her movement fluid and light. Effortlessly. Like everything was in perfect control. The other herself hands made a movement and suddenly there was a wall of text in front of them. The pearl who was openly staring realized that the wall of text was the dictionary, each word sorted with an attached definition. The pearl who summoned the wall of text swiped left and right until she picked a word in her hand and stored it in her own gem.
She performed the act of storing in her gem with a flourish and concluded it with a deep bow.
"Disjointed." Pearl who starred spoke the word that pops into her head.
"Yes." The Pearl in front of the dictionary text said to Pearl. Softly she turned around, facing directly Pearl and taking a pearl ready stance.
"What... who are you?"
"Me obliviously."
"I am confused."
"The mess needed to be sorted. So a pearl was the best pick to sort the mess. So here I am."
"I ... imagined you? I wasn't asked to imagine a pearl sorting a mess out." The wall of text changed behind the other pearl, behind the other Pearl? Once more she was looking through the words.
"...hm... Not sure how I came to be, but I am Pearl for... Inside your Pearl." Words were flashing at the wall at high speeds.
" A pearl for a Pearl. " Another voice said with a chuckle. A familiar sounding amusement. That voice belonged to yet another Pearl. That Pearl was wearing black.
A black outfit.
The black outfit.
That Pearl was the Renegade.
"I am to be surface, you make messes so you go down. Hush, Hush. Before I sort you under P for 'plague'." The sorting, surface Pearl said waving her hand towards the Renegade Pearl.
" Oh no, I am going to get sorted, I am shaking. Please save me from this horror! " The Renegade danced around and towards them, her movements had a sharpness to them. One that made Pearl think of something ready to snap, or lash out. The Renegade stopped in front of them. Being just out of their arms reach, yet in her sword reach. The Renegade Pearls hands moving to cross across her chest. No stance appropriate for a Pearl. Her posture challenging anyone to try and correct it. Stance perfect for the Renegade.
Pearl blinked. The words behind Surface Pearl changed again, in a fast flash, as she was picking the word Pearl needed. Yet, before the Surface Pearl could send or give the word away, the Renegade forcefully took it away from her. " You are not insane. Defective, out your mind or anything else the Surface can dig out of that dictionary. "
"She is in her mind, obliviously... Not out her mind." The Surface Pearl helpfully provided. A smugness for correcting Renegade settling on her face.
The Main Pearl, she can't believe she had to name herself, "I am staring at two other me. How does it look to you?"
The two other me shared a look as if they knew the feeling. Understood the reasoning. Reneage returned the word back to the flashing wall of the dictionary. Her moments becoming slower and then stopped.
" ... I... was just an idea " The renegade said, not moving from staring at the flashing wall. " An idea given voice, that was still you, still your voice...I think... It was like with each word I was more me but then... the bath happened and I became stronger faster. "
"But how?!"
The Renegade finally turned if only to give Main Pearl a raised eyebrow. She had no visible eyebrows as she was all but a shadow with eyes and gem… The outfit really did hide things well, but it felt like she did exactly that. The lul of the moment passed Renegade speaking up again. Challenge in her voice, an dare to disagree.
" You spent a third of a cycle inside the diamond extract, having Pink diamond wrapped around you. " Pearl felt her cheeks get hotter, the bluish hue covering them. She did spend something that felt like an eternity in her Diamonds arms. The Renegade simply continued, approaching. " Pink diamond, who made sure to pour the pink water over your head and with that over my gem a few times." That she remembered clearly. It felt so good when her Diamond did that. Every time Main Pearl made that noise… The feeling was like everything was going to be well, and Pink had such a lovely carrying smile right then… "And a few times... her tears discreetly fall on top of our head..." Main Pearl looked away, those teary times did not last long... so maybe her presence helped PInk?...
"Exactly five times she poured the water."Provided the Surface Pearl, dragging Main Pearl attention to the recorded memory that started to play between them. A hologram projection yet with just colourful detail as if it was happening for real. Pearl waved at it and the memory vanished, returning back to its designated place. It amused the Renegade as her voice had a playful edge to it now.
" The same stuff that is used to create gems. Pearls usually are made with just a drop…and you were soaking in it. "
"I can show you the precise measurements!" Helpfully offered the Surface Pearl.
The Renegade pointed at Surface Pearl. " She was a wish, a... " The words behind the Surface Pearl shifted, new words appearing. She picked one and throw it at the Renegade who caught it like catching a stick.
" Subconscious need for order, that was still you. After the bath, I am positive she became more annoying. "
"That's it, you are getting sorted! " Surface scolded, approaching Renegade. The Main Pearl raised her hands. "Please no infighting... I have no idea how you two fighting will affect me, and I have to be there for Pink Diamond."
"Yeah for Pink diamond."
"Agree for pink Diamond"
The other two Pearls shared a look, Main Pearl oddly at seeing how things between them clicked. As if all was shiting in a well-organised order... Main blicked. Surface Pearl made a diamond salute. "Yes, my Pearl." Main Pearl blinked. She wondered what word she needed now, the Renegade hummed, pointing to Surface's picture-perfect pearl stance. "Let's not go into what that means for who we are, agreed? " She didn't need any words, for it... not yet.
Main Pearl reluctantly nodded, watching as Renegade simply walked into the white and vanished. The Surface Pearl looked at Main. "She just went a layer deeper, that's her place."
Main Pearl nodded, she knew the place would look like the old kindergartens... even if she had no idea how. Main closed her eyes. Pearl opening them slowly as she was back in the pink room. Her Diamond didn't notice her absence of attention.
She used another moment to think, there were many things she had to think about. She wanted to pick, focusing Pearl felt Surface organising it according to the most urgent topics to think about. Pearl started to think about the Pearl she poof, she had yet to go and check on her.
That was useful, helpful. It made her more free to actually think about it, instead to try to order it herself. The voices were easier to reach, knowing they were there. Knowing without a doubt they were all a 'me'.
But first.
"My Diamond." Pearl started talking as she did the diamond salute and bowing her head deeply. Picture perfect pearl stance.
"Mmm?"
"We never finished the story my Diamond." Pearl offered. Her Diamond hands stopped typing. She turned slightly towards Pearl. Pearl let her hands connect, sliding effortlessly out the salute into a different pearl position. Ready to entertain.
"I could listen to it now..." Her Diamond fingers touched the screen, not typing but just touching it.
Pearl, felt her cheeks heat up. A gently push in the back of her mind and the words all but poured out her lips.
"...going to the archive my diamond."
Her diamond turned, blinking openly at her. Just do.
Right, it was needed. It all servers her diamonds happiness. Just hers... "As the story occurs... happens at the archive, I imagined you may want to visit it before I conclude it...end it... to... enchant the experience." Pearl closed her eyes, she shouldn't use so many new words, Pearls speak simply to the point. Even if her Diamond didn't appear to mind it, it was still...
"Sounds like a good idea, but White would be on my case if I just visit the place without a real reason." Oh, Pearl blinked. That was a problem... but she could imagine it away. Her Pearl shined as she imagined her Diamond walking into the archive.
"She cannot complain if you go to submit to the archive what you have been writing, my diamond?" The projection giving over the writings to an operating gem.
Her diamond looked at it. "I can't." The projection dropped and Pearl looked at her openly in question.
"Why?" She asked, using why again, using that word so much on the course of the last several cycles that now it felt... So natural, even when she realized she just questioned her Diamond decisions. Gems have been shattered for less... Her diamond didn't even appear to notice the transgression towards her as she looked at her writings and back to Pearl.
"Right I didn't show it to you..." there was a reluctance to it as she moved the writings to be on the eye level with Pearl. She read them, hands reaching out to touch the screen. She understood them. Schematics from the kindergarten pooping up in her mind, the needed materials for injectors flashing behind her eyes. The words and numbers all made sense.
"You are trying to make a new type of gem?" Pearl spoke, finger swiping to look into more details. There were mistakes. Some smaller ones, but some bigger would cause the gems to not even form, or when formed they would be heavily malformed...
"Yes," Her Diamond said. Her hands wandering as if they didn't know where to go, as she continues. "I kind of failing to make them." Pearl could help her with that. Pearl's hands moved in a more confident manner as she spread the information across several screens in front of her to have a better overlook. Rereading the lines and calculation over now with an added focus to help her Diamond.
"If you add a purpose it would stabilize them. As well, adding a simple form, on which to base their own forming would furthermore assist in their stability. Limiting the possible amount of physical defects. There are several miscalculations regarding the use of injectors. Mainly for not considering they have to be adapted according to the type of soil the kindergarten is being planned to be built in. I can correct the smaller mistakes with the calculations for you, but the bigger pieces would need a defined input."
Pearl stopped to shift the screens around wondering if she could offer more suggestions to her Diamond. Her diamond voice stopped that idea.
"I thought I was given a Pearl," Pink responded using the moment of silence to cut in, causing Pearl to look up her diamond. "Not a Peridot." Pearl felt her light body become cold. Did she make her angry? She messed up. She couldn't help herself, she saw it as a messy problem and she knew she could try to make it less messy. That was the end of the Renegades tale.
Her diamond was grinning wide, her eyes shining.
Pearl wanted to speak up, her own words to be in a tone of challenge. The last deifying moment of her existence. Except it wasn't her last moment and her diamond turned the screens still have the grin on her face.
not angry... but happy.
"That's kind of a problem, you know. I don't know what purpose to give them and I don't want to force them into a single base shape. I want them to surprise me like with the shapes they decide to take on... Like you."
Nonsensical claim.
"...I have a Pearl shape like all the other pearls, my diamond." Pearl offered unsurely.
"I meant how you keep surprising me, like with all the things you do and say! I want that with their form! So they would be like you, in a sense!" Pink was excited.
Pearl wanted to offer that she could stop, but... her diamond just said she wanted to be kept on surprised. She could understand that as an order... She didn't have to understand it as an order. There was so much ... Pink wanted to make a gem line like her. She was giving her Diamond what she wanted. It felt heavy, dizzy as if the world was losing its light. Only Pearl was closing her eyes.
Just do.
Her gem lighting up. A projection of Pink Diamond entering the archive.
"How about, my diamond you go to the archive to read up on all the ways the other diamonds have made gem lines. " The projection showing Pink reading white screens of text as it then shifted to show White Diamond. "She has to praise you my diamond, for reading up on the gem lines she herself created." The white Diamond moving down so she could praise PInk and to follow it up with hugging Pink Diamond, for being such a great Diamond. All having happy smiles.
The real Pink reached out gently touching the projection, it sent a shiver thought Pearl.