The title was inspired by Pearl's words of "What we Really Are" during the older promo.
~O~
Chapter Thirty-Four: What We Really Are
Pearl pinned down the Star Sapphire with her foot.
She leveled her spear in the gem's face and watched her reach up with two hands beseechingly. "Please!" she begged, "Don't hurt me!"
"The Jasper who came here from Earth. Where is she?" Pearl demanded, her eyes wide and fierce, "Speak! I will tear through the legions of Homeworld to find her!"
"She-She's in the arena holding cells!" the Star Sapphire told her, shuddering with fright. "Please, I don't want to fight you! Don't hurt me!"
"I don't want to hurt anyone, but I will if I have to!"
"I'll take you to her!"
Pearl kept her spear leveled with Star Sapphire's head as they made their way toward the Amphitheater. There were presently no gems guarding it, which told Pearl that they had probably already received news of the assault at the warp.
Which also meant that White and Blue Diamond surely did as well.
They entered the dark cells and Star Sapphire led Pearl to where Jasper was being kept. The larger gem was leaning against the wall, her arms kept in glowing shackles. She looked rough; her uniform was covered in burns and scratches from battle.
Pearl's eyes widened in horror and she quickly rushed into the cell once Star Sapphire immediately deactivated the lasers.
"Jasper!" she cried.
She rushed inside, knelt down before Jasper and quickly struggled to lift her head to meet her eyes. Jasper's eyes blinked slowly and she looked exhausted. The once bright luster of her gem now looked dull in the dim light of the cell. She mumbled, as if delirious.
"Mm, no, I told you I won't..." Jasper grunted, "I'm not surrendering to you."
"Jasper, it's me!" Pearl cried, "I'm here! I'm here..."
Jasper furrowed her brow, chuckling bitterly. "No, no, no..." she said, shaking her head in rebuke, "No, I watched you die... The-The Harvester... You won't trick me!"
Pearl looked at her, near to tears. "Jasper, it's not a trick! We're here! We came back to save you! Look at me, please!"
Jasper blinked rapidly, struggled to look at Pearl. "Pearl...?" she mumbled. A tired smile lit her lips. Then, she reached up with two shaking hands and took Pearl's head in them. She laughed weakly. "Pearl? You're here? You're alive?"
"Yes! I'm here!"
Jasper smiled brightly, as if she couldn't believe it. "I thought I'd lost you again," she groaned, caressing Pearl's cheeks with two hands.
Pearl looked at her, studying the damage she'd been dealt from constant fighting. She knew what White Diamond had put her through; fighting in the arena to break her down mentally and physically. White Diamond was aware of how fighting was what Jasper knew most.
"She tried to get me to surrender. But I didn't. I gave her NOTHING."
Pearl still looked horrified by the damages Jasper had suffered; but the pride that returned in the larger gem's stare and the utter pleasure she took from her lack of surrender was admirable.
"Jasper, we have to move. Can you walk?" Pearl asked.
"Yeah."
Pearl quickly snapped the chains on Jasper's wrists and helped her stand. Star Sapphire raised two hands before they could depart.
"Wait, please...if you would give me a moment," she said. "Listen, we've seen what had happened to Yellow Diamond. We know what she's done. Your battle against her...what you two have done...it changed things on this planet; things we never believed possible."
Pearl frowned at her. "We don't have much time. Step aside."
"I know. We don't. But I need to say this before you do," Star Sapphire said, "There were gems here who stepped up, inspired by your actions. They believed in the freedoms that you do all the same. Many were shattered by White Diamond; Blue Diamond herself has remained silent to all of it. But know that you have allies here. More than you believe."
Pearl and Jasper looked at one another.
"Then let them fight for their freedom," Jasper told her, with a smile.
Star Sapphire nodded her head once.
She would deliver the message.
O
The fusion of Pearls stood before the approaching group of Homeworld gems. She raised her hands, and a flash of light burst from them, blinding the charging army. They cried out in pain, doubling over and holding their eyes.
"I did not wish to fight, but it seems there is no other choice." the fusion said.
Stevonnie rushed through the crowds of frantic gems in an effort to reach White Diamond's citadel. There was an explosion near their heads and they looked up in time to see a building swaying from the result of a gem's weapon attack.
They gasped, looked back toward Spinel, who was throwing shots from her slingshot into the battle. "Spinel!" Stevonnie shouted, pointing. "We got gems in there!"
Spinel looked up, eyes wide at the sight of gems screaming as they slapped at the windows. Non-combatant gems.
"I'm on it!" she said, vanishing in a streak of pink light.
Spinel ducked into each room in the collapsing building, grabbing every gem that she could and placing them out of danger nearby. Once she was sure that every gem was out of the building, she dusted her hands off and smiled at them.
"You can thank me later!" Spinel told them, "Bye!"
She rushed to return to her comrades, but noticed Amethyst flung from the battle with a cry of pain. Spinel's eyes widened and she quickly rushed to catch her.
"I gotcha! I gotcha!" Spinel cried.
Amethyst ended up colliding with her and the two gems fell flat into the ground. Spinel groaned and Amethyst quickly moved to help her stand.
"Are you okay? That was quite a catch! Thanks!" Amethyst joked.
Spinel laughed weakly and stretched. "Yeah, I'm good. Just hurt my pride..." She looked back and winced, "...and my butt."
Amethyst looked around, observing the destruction and chaos of battle. Spinel shut her eyes, rubbing her head. Amethyst caught the move and took her hand.
"Hey, come on, Spinel. We can do this," she assured her.
"I don't know if I can." Spinel looked down at her, eyes brimming. "Amethyst...I think..."
Amethyst looked confused by her tears. "Spinel?"
"I think I'm ready."
"For what?"
"I'm ready to fuse with you."
Amethyst's eyes widened. "Really?"
"Yeah. I mean..." Spinel laughed weakly and gestured around her. "We may not get another chance. And me? Well...will you still like me after?"
The sad look on her face twisted Amethyst inside. She quickly put her arms around Spinel and couldn't stop her tears.
"Even long after." she told her.
Spinel brightened and chuckled. "Okay."
O
Lapis watched the battle away from Flint and Spirit. Peridot was making her way toward the warp pad and refused to look at her. She was carrying a table in her hands.
"Okay. If I can somehow get this broadcast to the gems of Homeworld, they can see what White Diamond is planning," she said, her voice quiet, "I'll get it to the communication hub as fast as I can. Maybe... Maybe I can convince my sisters to help."
Flint looked down at Steel. "Hey, go with her," she ordered, "Keep her safe, yeah?"
Steel gave a long yawn and followed Peridot to the warp. Lapis watched her warily.
"Peridot..." she began.
"Well," Peridot took a deep breath and refused to look at her. "Here I go!"
She raced into the warp, leaving Lapis in stunned silence. Flint glanced back at her for a moment before she resumed her attention to the holographic screen in front of her.
"You have a chance, you know." she said.
Lapis looked up with a surprised sound.
"You have a chance to fix it, just like me," Flint told her, "Instead of sitting there feeling sorry for your mistakes, you can get out there and help them. You can fight."
Lapis didn't seem so sure. Flint turned to her, walked up and turned her around with one hand. Lapis made a startled sound when the larger gem yanked off the device keeping her from using her abilities. Lapis turned to her and Flint simply stood her ground, waiting for a fight, if need be.
"Make your choice, water butterfly," she said, with a small edge. "Them?" She produced her Bo Staff and stood strong. "Or me?"
Lapis regarded her, then looked at a wary Spirit; she glanced at the warp pad before nodding an affirmative. Her watery wings stretched out from her gem and she dove through the warp. Spirit watched her go and turned to Flint, who sighed with relief.
"Whew! Thank the Stars!" she muttered, "It was feeling pretty cramped around here."
"You gave her a chance. I'm impressed." Spirit remarked, smiling. "I thought your gem make couldn't see beyond their own wild behavior."
"Yeah? Well, maybe you don't know what you're talking about after all."
Spirit murmured thoughtfully. Then, she felt herself rather ashamed. She exhaled quietly and watched the gem for a moment.
"I'm sorry." she said.
"Huh?" Flint was focused on the screen.
"I said, I'm sorry."
"I still didn't hear you, what?"
Spirit huffed. "I'm SORRY."
Flint grinned at her. "Yeah, I heard you the first time, Robes. Just wanted to milk it."
Spirit raised an eyebrow before laughing quietly. Then, she looked over at Lion, who seemed to watch the holographic display gravely. Her smile faded a little.
O
White Diamond was aware of the arrival.
She stood before the pillar, pressing a few keys that displayed a timer for four hours before the charge was complete. That was how long she had until the pillars would send for the signal to purge everything. Once that happened, she could reprogram the gems as she saw fit. As she saw logical.
"They'll understand," she murmured, to herself, "Once this is finished, they will understand. They will see the light of my words. They all will."
There was an explosion to the left of her tower and she furrowed her brow, approaching the glass window. Several gems were making their way up the streets and had fired a few shots from their weapons in her direction.
Pity.
Outside, Pearl and Jasper were making their way back to Garnet and the others when they heard the sound of the approaching Homeworld gems. Many of them were unfamiliar, but they were marching forward with weapons in hand.
They were ready to fight.
Pearl faced them, awestruck. "All of you, really?"
"You inspired us." a peridot said from the group. "You gave us hope that we have a choice. We decide our fate, not the Diamonds!"
Jasper and Pearl looked at one another, smiling.
"Well?" Pearl said, "Are you ready to lead them?"
Jasper nodded. "Yeah. I'm ready."
Meanwhile, Stevonnie made their way through the chaos of battle, speaking with Flint through the communicator.
"Alright, Flint; where am I going?" they asked.
Flint was tense. The whole situation worried her. "White Diamond's citadel - " She cut herself off and looked toward the warp pad as several Homeworld soldier began to pour through. She bit back a curse and clutched her Bo Staff. "Hold on!"
Stevonnie looked worried. "Flint! Flint, what's happening?" they cried.
"Nothing!" Flint grunted, kicking out her foot into an amethyst's midsection. "Just got Homeworld clods coming through the warp! I got it!" She looked back at Spirit. "Hey, Robes, take over, will ya'?"
Spirit watched her worriedly, but made her way to the console, looking at Stevonnie. "You may find heavy resistance there. White Diamond's Onyx soldiers were trained at her citadel. Be careful, please."
Flint ducked from a punch and slammed her Bo Staff across the amethyst's face. Several more gems of every shape and size began to pour through; agate's, jasper's, tourmaline's...
Flint wiped her face with one hand. "Alright," she laughed, "NOW it's a party!"
O
Stevonnie made their way through a building to hide from the Homeworld gems. "Okay, this is bad..." they mumbled.
They heard a banging sound and quickly rushed forward, passing a cell that housed White Diamond's pearl and an Onyx.
"Wait!" the pearl cried, jumping to her feet. "Wait, please!"
Stevonnie froze on a flight of stairs and turned, noticing the two gems reaching for her pleadingly. Something was wrong about the Onyx; this one looked nothing like the one they'd fought before. It certainly didn't seem emotionless.
"Please, help us!" the pearl begged.
Stevonnie hesitated, started to go again before they sighed and made their way toward the cell.
"What are you doing in there?" they asked. "Wait... Aren't you White Diamond's pearl? Why does she have you in there?"
The pearl shook her head. "She was convinced I would betray her. She's planned on reprogramming me and Onyx here. Onyx didn't want to go through her training, so she's scheduled for the same."
Stevonnie frowned. "So what do you want me to do? I can't just trust you."
"I understand. But we can help!" the pearl insisted. "Just give us a chance! We can get you through a passage beneath White Diamond's tower!"
"There's a passage." Stevonnie didn't buy it for a moment.
"Yes! It was built for White Diamond to come and go without being seen by the masses." the pearl explained. "Built long ago to transfer supplies to and from her tower without interfering with traffic above. If you let us out, we can take you to her."
Stevonnie sighed, considering it. "Why help us? What do you gain from it?"
"Her plan. We know what she's going to do. This affects us all." Onyx told her. "We can't let her purge us and reprogram every gem as she sees fit. She thinks she's helping, but she's cracked. We can't let it happen. Please."
Stevonnie glanced up, listening to the sounds of battle outside before they frowned. "If you try to trick us, then you're on your own."
They raised their sword and cut through the power box supplying energy to the cell. Immediately, the two gems stepped out. White Pearl looked at Stevonnie and gestured with a wave of her hand.
"Quickly! We don't have much time!" she said.
"Why?" Stevonnie asked.
Then, they felt it; a humming sound beneath their feet. Stevonnie looked down and noticed the horrified look on the pearl's face now.
"She's already activated it! We don't have much time! Hurry!" she cried.
They made their way back outside and the sounds of approaching footsteps made them look behind them. White Diamond was approaching, rounding the corner in battle armor. She'd reformed her being for combat and was clutching her scythe in one hand.
Her shadow loomed over the gems and they watched her with horror.
"Oh no..." Stevonnie gasped.
White Diamond calmly regarded them for a few seconds more before she brought her scythe down in a brutal swing. The gems scattered as it split the ground beneath their feet. Onyx produced a spear and began to fire round after round at her.
White Diamond's cloak hummed with electricity and she began to spin on her heels, deflecting each shot with expert precision. The Onyx continued to fire in a desperate attempt to wound her before White Diamond swung her scythe through her form.
The others watched in horrified silence as the Onyx's face suddenly went slack in pain. She looked down at her body as it began to flicker with light, crackling as if she were a television gone static. Stevonnie could only stare in muted shock as the gem began to crumble apart like glass.
White Diamond watched her calmly before turning to the others. She noticed Stevonnie and tilted her head.
"And now, you're finally here," she said, "Does it please you, half-breed, to know that you alone will bring chaos and destruction to our race?"
"You think corrupting every gem who had nothing to do with the war is the answer?" Stevonnie demanded, noticing that the pearl had hidden behind them, "They had NOTHING to do with us! Don't hurt them!"
White Diamond sighed, shaking her head and wiping her scythe on her robes. "Don't you see? Are you blind to the seeds you've sown? Yes, as a Diamond, we are often faced with ugly choices in our lives. One crack, one fatal flaw would bring our race to extinction. I am saving them from their worst enemy; themselves."
"I won't let you! Gems deserve the right to choose!"
White Diamond raised an eyebrow. "You don't understand what we truly are, do you?" she said, "Look around you. We are not the friends you have come to love. We are not the peaceful beings you have in your company. Whatever a gem chooses, they will always come back to war and conquest. To deny a gem their true existence is cruel. To keep them from their purpose takes one with a truly evil heart."
Stevonnie thought about her words for a moment. "I didn't mean for this to happen..."
"Of course not. No one really means to kill." She was silent for a moment, clenching her scythe tightly. "To preserve you, to understand you is an act of love; and I don't love you. I do not cherish you. I am not my sister; the very being you chose to destroy and burn to cinder."
Stevonnie gestured for the pearl to stand aside. "I don't want this." they said, voice shaking.
"If that were true, you would not stand before me," White Diamond told them. She looked up toward her tower, as if in a state of peace. "Do you know what I was meant to be? Logic. Order. I was meant to bring wisdom to the new world. They once looked to me and saw strength. Now, they will see the creature you have wrought."
She swung her scythe in a blinding dash and Stevonnie quickly sprinted away, terrified. White Diamond calmly pursued her into the city.
"Why do you flee from me?" she asked. "Ah, I see. You're returning to the others. Good. Give them hope and courage. I will take that from them first."
Stevonnie was rushing as fast as they could, desperately attempting to contact Flint. "FLINT!" they shrieked. "White Diamond's on my tail!"
No response.
Flint was laying on her side, panting and holding a small grenade in her hand. She was surrounded by jasper's, who pointed their weapons at her.
"Justice is inevitable, Flint," one of them said.
Flint laughed weakly. "Hey, you know what this is? It's a little toy I cooked up just in case you Homeworld clods found a way to me. It'll turn us into those freaks of nature. The Corrupted Ones?"
The jaspers didn't seem to believe her.
"Ah, you don't believe me, huh?" Flint laughed, glancing over at Spirit, who warily watched her. "All I gotta do is push this button and we're all gone."
One of the jaspers suddenly seemed uncertain now. "Don't push that." she said, her voice shaking.
"Hold it together, you idiot! She's bluffing!" another spat.
Flint started to toss it to the ground and the gems fled through the warp with frightened cries. Flint tossed the grenade to the ground and Spirit squeezed her eyes shut tight, anticipating the worst. When the grenade cracked open, a tiny explosion of confetti emerged.
Flint grinned and started laughing weakly. "Hah. Suckers." she sneered.
Spirit made her way to her and shook her head, helping her stand. "You idiot." she muttered, "You almost had even me believe your trick."
Flint chuckled. "I'm just that good."
They both looked toward Lion, who watched the device that had been used to cure the other gems. He looked at them and then gestured with a flick of his head to it. They seemed to comprehend for a moment what he was trying to say.
"Do you think..." Flint began.
Spirit approached Lion, knelt down and placed a hand over his head. She was silent, seemingly in a trance before she looked at Flint.
"She says she's ready." she said.
Flint struggled to keep her balance. "We don't even know if it'll work."
"We have to try. She says she's willing to stop what she started." Spirit told her. She looked at Lion sadly now. "He's going to disappear. He won't be the same as he was."
Lion rumbled quietly and bumped noses with her. Flint sighed heavily. "He'll understand." she replied, referring to Steven. "This may be the only way to stop it."
"Alright." Spirit stood up and backed away as Flint approached the device. "Let's pray."
Flint started up the machine, pressed a few buttons and turned several dials before aiming it at Lion. He calmly closed his eyes, moments as the device was fired.
O
Note - The first fight with White Diamond was inspired by the Bloodborne Soundtrack OST - "Gehrman, The First Hunter".