10. Consequence
- Pink Diamond confronts her sisters.
Pearl stood stiffly, doing her best to hide her shaking hands. She was alone in this wretched place, surrounded by off-colors, fusions, and traitors. Some of them were glaring at her, but nobody approached as long as the defective twin rutiles stayed by her side.
A ruby-pearl fusion came up to them. Pearl felt curious; she quickly squashed that thought, discomforted. She refused to wonder why any diamond would allow such a thing.
"Who is this?" the fusion asked, fidgeting nervously.
"This is Blue Diamond's pearl," one of the rutiles said.
"Please go get Pink," the other rutile continued.
The fusion gasped, worriedly grasping at her hair as she scurried away.
Pearl carefully kept still. She didn't want to be here, but her diamond had asked her to do this, so she would.
After a few minutes, the fusion returned. With her was the youngest diamond.
Pearl gasped mutely. She had heard her diamond talk about the damage to Pink Diamond's face, but hadn't realized it was so bad.
And yet, Pink Diamond's eyes were bright and focused. Her hair was fluffy and only a little tangled, and her dress was clean, except for a few bits of dirt. She looked so much better than she had all the times Pearl had tried to comfort her.
Pink Diamond stared at her, and Pearl remembered herself. She bent into a deep bow, saluting respectfully. "My Diamond."
She heard a quiet "oh" of surprise. Nobody else had addressed Pink Diamond properly. This was deeply unsettling.
She didn't move as Pink Diamond approached her. However, she wasn't expecting the light touch on her shoulder and flinched. Pink Diamond knelt before her, gently trying to coax her into straightening. Pearl slowly did so.
Pink Diamond smiled at her, her expression warm. "That's not necessary," she said softly. "A simple hello will do."
Pearl didn't know what to do with the anxious but mild stab of heat in her chest. She was blushing and couldn't help it. She thought of Pink Diamond's pearl and wondered.
The diamond shifted, sitting on her legs without a care for the filth getting on her dress. It seemed that Pink Diamond still didn't take offense to things that she should; that, at least, had not changed about her. "Why are you here?" she asked.
Pearl startled. She fumbled at her gem, pulling out a communicator. "My Diamond would like to speak with you," she said quietly, fighting against the urge to bow again as she held it out.
Pink Diamond blinked and took it hesitantly. She merely looked at it, watching as it glowed blue to signify who was calling. After a moment, her brow furrowed and her expression hardened. She crushed the thing in her hands, casually casting it aside. Pearl shuddered.
Pink Diamond shook her head, a tear trickling down her cheek. "I'm sorry, I'm not ready to talk to her…" Her gaze moved to Pearl. "What do my sisters want?"
This… This wasn't supposed to happen! She was just supposed to deliver the communicator, nothing more!
Pink Diamond didn't look angry. She seemed to remember that there were a lot of gems around and sent most of them away. The fusion and the twin rutiles remained nearby but at a respectful distance.
"Pearl."
She stiffened.
"It's alright, you can speak freely here." Seeing her hesitation, the diamond continued, "You're always with her, surely you must know what they're thinking?"
She didn't know what to say. "M-My Diamond grieves for you…"
"Does she." Pink Diamond didn't seem pleased. Pearl tried to remind herself that she was displeased with her diamond, not herself.
"Yes!" Pearl tried again. She had felt her diamond's grief countless times. "She doesn't wish to fight you."
The diamond sighed. "And what about Yellow? Does she want to fight?"
"I-I'm not sure… I don't think so?" She winced. An uncertain answer like that was sure to…
Pink Diamond only nodded. "What if I try to leave? What will they do?"
She stayed silent, not knowing and not daring to say so. Pink Diamond was the least terrifying diamond, but she was still a diamond all the same.
The quiet stretched on as Pink Diamond grew lost in thought. Finally, she looked at Pearl again, serious. "Please deliver this message to them. Tell them that, in four decades, I'm going to leave Homeworld and never return. I'm going to take my ship, and I want enough ships to house a thousand gems at least. If they don't give them to me, I will acquire them through other means."
Pearl nodded, committing her words to memory to repeat later. She felt disquieted; did Pink Diamond truly want to leave forever?
"And tell them… If they try to stop me… If they dare harm my friends… Then there will be consequences."
The ice in Pink Diamond's voice left her shivering helplessly. She nodded again and saluted. "Y-Yes, My Diamond, I will deliver your message."
The diamond stood. "Come. I'll make sure you get home safely."
Pearl gaped when a hand was offered to her. She took it carefully; Pink Diamond's hand was warm, and her grasp was gentle. She didn't let Pearl lag behind her as she was supposed to when they started to walk, instead slowing her pace to match the shorter gem's.
Pearl swallowed all her questions, suppressing the old thoughts about how strange Pink Diamond was. She wondered if it was possible for a diamond to be defective and berated herself for her blasphemy.
The silence continued until they came to a stop just outside a public area. Pearl waited to be dismissed. "Pearl…" She stood at attention.
Pink Diamond fidgeted for a moment, looking away. "I'm not trying to topple this empire. Another war is not what I want… No matter how hard I tried, there were just some gems I could never sway to join the Crystal Gems. I don't have the right to take away their happiness."
Yes, Pearl never understood why anyone would want to abandon their purpose. Sometimes she had thoughts, and she locked those away in a small, dark box in the back of her mind.
"What I want is for Blue and Yellow to learn that there's more than one way to be a diamond. I'm not ready to talk to them yet, but I will be…someday. I hope they will be kind to their gems until then. And…" She paused, shifting her weight from one foot to the other then back to both.
"If Blue ever wants to replace you or do you harm…" She met Pearl's gaze, continuing delicately. "Please… Come to me… After all those thousands of years in her service, you deserve better than that. You'll be safe."
Pearl was left stunned once again. She could never abandon her diamond, or ignore her wishes, even if it meant she was shattered. She was further flabbergasted when Pink Diamond came closer and embraced her, just for a moment.
"Thank you for taking care of me… I know Blue sent you, but still." She wore a small, sad smile that reached her eyes regardless.
"Y-You seem happy…" Pearl murmured without meaning to. Her whole body felt much too warm.
Pink Diamond didn't bat an eye at her mistake. "Yes, I am… I'm finally getting better…"
She turned and left Pearl alone with her thoughts.
Homeworld buzzed with anxiety. Today, no work was done.
Pink Diamond's leg ship stood stoically, surrounded by many smaller ships. Yellow and Blue Diamond stood nearby, waiting. They didn't know what to expect.
The years had seemed to pass much too quickly. There had been occasional skirmishes between Yellow's and Pink's forces, but nothing severe. She still refused to speak directly to them, preferring to talk through their pearls instead. Her demands were simple; she wanted to go, and she wanted them to leave her alone.
They waited for what seemed like days before they heard the distant marching of an army. Blue clutched at Yellow's forearm; they could see her, though she was far away still. Behind her were her new Crystal Gems, and they were prepared to fight. Yellow's lip curled in disgust; she had never imagined that there could be so many off-colors hiding right under their noses.
The two diamonds didn't move as their lost sister approached. Homeworld gems were at the ready, but did not engage.
At last, Pink arrived. She stood straight, with a large sword buckled to her hip. Blue started to cry; her expression was just as cold and merciless as it had been on that day fifty years ago.
"So. What will it be?" she asked them. Her gaze seemed to drill into their very gems.
"You can't do this, Pink," Yellow said, keeping her voice even. She took a step forward, shaking Blue off her arm.
Pink didn't balk, though the gems behind her shifted nervously. "Are you going to stop me?" Her tone was flat and calm. If she was frightened by the prospect of fighting both of them at once, she wasn't showing it.
"Pink, please," Yellow tried again. "Listen to reason! You need to stop with this ridiculous game!"
Pink's eyelids lowered, just slightly. "You still think this is a game?" The words were laced with venom.
Fear trickled down Yellow Diamond's spine, damming up further words in her throat. For all the invincible, flawless power she liked to show, all it would take is one strike. She looked at Blue, pleading with her to do something.
Blue took a shaking breath. "Pink…" She nearly flinched when Pink's gaze shifted to her. Her mismatched eyes were burning. With what? Madness? Hatred? Blue couldn't meet them for long.
"Please, just let me leave."
Blue shook her head. Her aura burst from her unintentionally, her grief piercing the hearts of everyone around her and bringing them to their knees. Yellow winced, hastily wiping away the tears trickling down her face.
Pink fell to one knee with a heartbreaking whimper. Blue poured everything into her aura, and for a moment, it seemed like it would be enough.
Pink Diamond slowly raised her head and glared at her older sister, furious. Her own aura blazed to life around her, shredding through Blue's as if it was nothing. She straightened, spreading it out to her gems and shielding them from the harmful emotion.
"Please, Pink! You can have whatever you want, and do what you want! Please, can't you stay?" Blue pleaded.
"I will not remain in this prison any longer!" Pink hissed with narrowed eyes.
The pink fire spread towards them. Blue felt it pushing at her, harder and harder, until it broke through. The azure diamond stumbled back, collapsing to one knee. Beside her, Yellow trembled from the effort of keeping still, her knees bent to withstand the assault.
Blue despaired. When had she grown so much stronger than them? She had taken her suffering and forged it into unyielding strength.
The aura retreated after a moment, letting them breathe. "Are you going to shatter us then?" Yellow gasped out.
"I don't want to…but I will, if you force my hand," Pink replied curtly.
"Surely you don't believe that you can defeat Homeworld's entire army!" Yellow grimaced, straightening.
Pink shook her head. "I'm not stupid. Perhaps you might subdue me today, but know that I will never stop seeking my revenge." She crossed her arms and delivered her ultimatum. "Either you shatter me, or I shatter you."
Yellow and Blue looked at each other helplessly. That was the one thing they weren't willing to do.
Pink glared at Yellow, and Yellow glared back. "Do you really hate me so much, that you'd rather I stay here and be miserable?" the smaller diamond asked.
Blue gasped. "No, of course not! We… We love you, Pink!"
"Then act like it."
Yellow looked away, ashamed tears escaping her eyes; they were her own this time. Blue could not face her hatred either.
Pink raised her hand, signaling to her gems. The army began to move towards the ships while Pink positioned herself in between them and the defeated diamonds. The three of them did not move or speak while the ships were loaded and boarded. Another signal, and the smaller ones took off and left for the depths of space.
"What are you going to do out there?" Blue Diamond whispered.
"Be free," Pink answered simply.
"How are you going to colonize anything?" Yellow Diamond demanded.
"Oh, I'm not. I'm going to find a better way, a way that doesn't destroy everything and leave nothing but death behind." She sneered at them. "Consider my position in your 'Great Diamond Authority' renounced."
"W-What? You can't just-"
"Of course I can!" Pink snipped, cutting Yellow off. "Am I not a diamond? Is that not what you always wanted me to be? I tried back then, I really did, but unfortunately my priorities are different from yours." For the first time, her hardened expression softened minutely. "I just don't belong here…"
Pink turned and walked toward her ship. Blue reached a hand out in vain, wanting to tell her that wasn't true but choking on the words. Yellow held her silence; they both knew Pink had always been strange.
Pink paused, looking back over her shoulder as she touched the ship. "Someday, I hope you'll understand exactly what you took from me," she said softly. An orb swallowed her up, taking her away from them.
The ship shifted its feet and bent its knees before springing into the atmosphere. It was gone in seconds, never to return.
Blue Diamond collapsed, keening. Yellow Diamond knelt down beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. For once, they did not care about letting inferior gems see their vulnerability.
A/N: Pink got pretty nasty in this one, but that's what happens when all your friends got murdered and you don't want your new friends to meet the same fate.