Peridot-Terentius Facet-2F5L Cut-5X was a natural peridot, about Connie's height, a distasteful green, but very cute with her angled triangle-shaped hair, neatly fitting visor, an inverted triangle gem set in her forehead. She wore a dark green jumpsuit with a pink diamond on it. But given how she introduced herself, she was originally from Yellow Diamond's planet HD-40307-g. Despite her harsh, no-nonsense personality, Yellow seemed to dote on Steven.
"And who authorized you to be here?" Connie snapped.
"Well…" Peridot-Terentius grimaced but kept meeting Connie's gaze.
Connie liked the Peridot and decided she would show her that in whatever Peridot's answer was.
"Well, nobody," Peridot muttered with a frowned. "But this is an emergency!"
Raising an eyebrow, Connie gave herself a few seconds to think. She'd let Peridot in whatever she said, but Peridot seemed to be earnest. Connie turned. "Very well," she said. "This way."
Inside Steven's room, Steven had moved from the bed to a smaller version of his throne, which was on a palanquin in the room's corner. Connie walked Peridot over to the throne, bowed, and introduced her.
"Peridot-Terentius, My Diamond, with urgent business," Connie announced.
Steven raised a hand in acknowledgment, and Connie took her place by his throne, leaving Peridot alone in front.
"Peridot-Terentius," Steven said. "What's up?"
"My Diamond." Peridot saluted. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I have urgent news. I'm a Certified Data Archiver and I've come from New Homeworld to warn you of a breach in sensitive files. Now it could be nothing, just corrupted lines acting up. I could fix them, of course! But I don't have a high enough clearance."
"Who does?" Steven asked.
"Nobody! I looked at the administration log to find who to take the issue to, and no one has access to these files. Well, accept you, My Diamond."
Connie saw Steven frown out of the corner of her eye. "Weird," he said. "Connie, do you think while we were looking for Bismuth, she was…"
"I don't know, My Diamond," Connie muttered. "We don't know where she hid the Breaking Point. We have no idea what else is in its hiding place."
Steven hummed and nodded. "Very well. I'll let you in. I'm really tired of his ball, anyway. But I've got to get some sleep first." He turned to look at Connie. "We both do. Peridot could you find the Pink Stars and let Garnet know what's going on. We'll set out as soon as Connie and I are rested up."
"Garnet?!" Peridot whispered in excitement. "Yes, My Diamond! Have a good rest, My Diamond!" And with that Peridot rushed off, full speed out the door, and disappeared.
Connie looked at Steven and sighed. "What do you think the file breach is?"
"I don't want to think about it right now. I want to sleep." Steven dragged himself from his palanquin and back to his bed. Connie followed, unsurprised by how heavy she felt. They fell into the bed, on top of the blankets.
"I'm too tired to dissipate my clothes," Steven muttered.
"Me too," Connie said.
Silence overtook them, and within moments, Connie was asleep.
#
By the time they returned to the Throne Room. Even the other Diamonds seemed sick of the ball.
"There you are, Stardust," White's melodious voice said as Steven reentered the area of the thrones.
"Hey, Lily," Steven said. He took Connie around the waist and tapped his foot, sending them both up and into the arm of White Diamond's massive throne. "You look bored," Steven muttered as he let Connie go.
Connie curtsied and said nothing. She kept her eyes down and with nothing to do, listened and waited to be moved again.
"Oh, you know…" White Diamond sighed. "These things can get sooo long. Especially without your mother here to entertain us. Not that we don't love you, Stardust. But your nap was sooo long."
"Lily, I was only gone for three hours," Steven replied flatly. "Anyway," he went on, smiling. "There's stuff up at my place, I'd better go."
"Oh thank stars," Yellow muttered. "I was going to crack if I had to sit through any more of this."
"I could do something else as well," Blue breathed.
"Well, if we're all in agreement," White said.
Steven nodded and slipped an arm around Connie's waist again before stepping off White's Throne and landing by his own. At Pink's Throne, Lacey and Rayne were sat side by side on the chair with the rest of the Pink Stars standing nearby. Peridot had somehow made her way near Garnet and was looking at her out of the corner of her eye with admiration.
"Anything new?" Steven asked as they switched places. Lacey and Rayne went back to the Stars, while Connie took her place by the Throne and Steven sat down.
"Nothing to report," Lacey said softly.
"Peridot is eager to go, though," Rayne said. She glanced at Peridot, who was trying to keep her eyes on Steven but glancing at Garnet. "When she remembers to be," Rayne added.
"Well, we're about to wrap up here. Axelle, go grab Ellie and meet us at the legs."
"Right'o, My Diamond!" Axelle saluted and marched off, disappearing in the crowd of taller gems.
Steven adjusted his position on the throne, frowned, and sighed. "I can't wait to sleep in my actual bed," he muttered.
"Let's get Steven home," Blue muttered. "He's still exhausted."
Blue's lovely pale blue face was painted with worry in Connie's peripheral vision. It amazed Connie that she could look so worried without a single wrinkle or line appearing in her perfect face. It was like she was wearing a beautiful, worried mask. Connie was mesmerized by it.
"Al-right," White said. Then she raised her hands and clapped.
Despite not putting much force behind it, the clap echoed through the throne room, overshadowing every other sound.
"Our loyal subjects!" White said. Her perfect bell-like voice rang out over the room. "Your devotion and enthusiasm have brought a smile to our faces! But it is time now to return to daily life!"
"Welcome all to Era 4," the Diamonds said together.
Steven got up first, marching down the middle of the throne room. The crowd parted for him, saluting as they did. Connie followed him at the approved distance and felt the sweep of Blue's presence behind her. They marched out in a line, Diamond, Pearl, Diamond, and so on until White's dazzling heels could be heard even on the padded carpet.
They stopped eventually in a private area of the palace, and Connie felt the air relax around her.
"Lotus," Yellow said. She was stretching, as if she was stiff. "Go get some sleep. We have to discuss the Jade system soon."
"I know," Steven said. "I'll call you."
"Oh, Lotus," White said, crouching delicately. "When will you be back, Stardust?"
Steven smiled. "Soon. I just have some work to do. I have a surprise for you all later too."
The other Diamonds seemed to snap to attention.
"Oh?" White said. "Well, I can't wait! Go on then. Head back to the New Homeworld. We'll visit soon."
Connie watched the interaction with warmth. She hadn't called her parents in some time and seeing Steven with the other Diamonds made her aware of how much she missed them.
"Pink's Aubergine," a voice said from beside her.
Connie turned and found Blue Pearl and Yellow Pearl beside her.
"Oh. Hey guys," Connie said softly. "You can call me Connie."
"Connie," Blue Pearl said. "I'm Star and this is Sun. Good to meet you. You did well out there."
"Yes," Sun said with surprise lacing her voice. "You were excellent. I've never seen an organic-pearl in such a role before. But it's so like Pink Diamond to surprise us. He's so like his mother."
"Oh? I've heard that." Connie smiled warmly.
"And your fusion looks so much like her," Sun went on. "You're obviously a good match for him."
"Thank you," Connie replied, then saw that Steven was done with his goodbyes and about to walk away. She waved to her fellow pearls and took her place behind Steven just as he walked away.
#
"Peridot-Terentius," Steven said. He was sitting in the Throne Room of the Tower. He looked a lot more like himself. His dark was tied back up into a ponytail and he'd returned to his cuffed jean pants and sandals. He wore one of his old t-shirts from Greg since Connie had laid that out for him, but he did have his new short, pink cloak on instead of the old knee-length one. There was no reason for him to hide bundled in a long cloak any longer.
There was a collection of New Homeworld gems in the Throne room, waiting to speak to him, including Lars, Emie, and their crew. Steven had announced the night before when they arrived back from Homeworld that he wouldn't take any visitors until he was rested. He and Connie had slept until well into the morning before getting up, lazily having sex, then going about getting ready for the day. Now they were Diamond and Pearl, attending to the business of the day.
"I'm sending you down to the Data Station to check things out," Steven said. "You can report back what you find and I'll deal with it then."
"Yes, My Diamond," Peridot said smartly.
"Take this communicator," Steven went on, pulling out a large crystal from his pocket. "It's a direct line to me and will allow you access to the Data Station once you're inside. But still, I don't want you to run into anything you can't handle," Steven went on. "So I want a Pink Star to go down with you, just in case."
"Of course, My Diamond!" Peridot's eyes lit up, and she moved her head a little in Garnet's direction without taking her eyes off Steven.
"Pearl-Connie. You go with her. Just in case."
Connie saluted. "Yes, My Diamond," she said cheerfully.
"What?!" Peridot said.
A small gasp ripped around the Throne Room, then all was quiet. Connie frowned, but not in disapproval. She knew Steven wouldn't mind being questioned. The Pink Stars had needed to question him all the time as they had raised him. But that was private, and they were family. For Peridot to question a Diamond, in public no less, Connie felt bad for her. It had been slip she wouldn't be allowed to forget soon.
Peridot seemed to know it too. She winced and straightened up, saluting more solidly. "I… mean…" There was nothing she could say to defend herself.
"It's alright, Peridot," Steven laughed. "I know you probably want Garnet to go, but I need her to do something else today. Pearl-Connie can go with you. She'll keep you out of trouble. Right, Connie?"
"I will, My Diamond," Connie said with a smile she hoped would reassure Peridot.
"See?" Steven said. "So, you two head out and I'll get your report later. Use the communicator if you need to." Steven handed the communicator to Pearl and waved her away.
Connie stepped down from the Throne's platform and headed towards the door as fast as he could without running. She hoped making a swift exit would give Peridot no time to argue anymore and dig herself in deeper. Luckily, Peridot seemed to get the hint and was beside her quickly.
They walked out together and Pearl led the way through the hallways.
"Where are you taking me, Pearl?" Peridot said after a minute of walking.
"I need to change and grab my bag," Connie said. "I didn't put it in my pearl this morning because St- My Diamond and I were running a little behind."
"Oh, fine. But make it quick, Pearl."
"Mhm," Connie replied, rolling her eyes where Peridot couldn't see. She wondered whose pearl Peridot thought she was talking to.
It took just a few minutes to get back into the private rooms where Connie had left her things. She grabbed her things with her gem, changed into them, and turned around to find Peridot looking around the room in awe.
Steven and Connie's room wasn't as tidy as Connie normally kept her own room, but that gave it the effect of being lived in. His clothes were in piles on the floor. The closet door was open to reveal the two sides, one large section full of his clothes and a smaller section containing Connie's. The bed wasn't made and Peridot stood close to it, with one hand on a pillow.
"You're so lucky you get to live with Lotus Diamond."
White had put out a message before Steven and Connie got up stating all the Diamonds' names. Steven was officially Lotus Diamond now, and his mother was Rose Diamond. The poetic stories about how Rose Diamond had given life to the rebel leader and even gifted her gem type with her name were being spread already. Connie had heard them from Ellie during breakfast. Rose Quartz wasn't just a rebel now, she was seen as personally betraying her maker, her own mother. It made her even more hated and made Steven even more beloved.
"Yea," Connie said. "It's pretty great."
"Do you…" Peridot trailed off, then turned around. "Let's get going, Pearl," she said in a harsher voice and began marching out of the room.
Connie walked after her, confused but resigned. This was going to be a long day.
#
The Data Station they needed to travel to was deep under the Alpha Kindergarten. Connie had been to a kindergarten before, but never this one. If they hadn't been on a mission, she would have liked to hang around and explore, but they didn't have time. Peridot made that very clear when they arrived.
"Come on, Pearl. We're going to do this and report back to Lotus Diamond."
"Right," Connie said nicely, despite wanting to kick Peridot. "So how do we get down to the Data Station?"
Peridot sighed and frowned. "The elevator should be around here somewhere. Could you bring up a map, please?"
Connie had her arms crossed over her chest and uncrossed them to show her gem. From within her gem, she displayed a map of the area, which she'd downloaded earlier. "The elevator," she said, "is quite the walk from here. There are no warp pads close by, so we have no choice but to walk."
Groaning, Peridot turned away from Connie. "I should have brought a hovercraft," she groaned. "Well, let's get walking."
They started out, Pearl trailing behind Peridot not so much out of respect, but because she didn't want to walk next to her.
"This place gives me the creeps," Peridot muttered. "Pearl, liven up the place, will you?"
"Excuse me?" Connie said flatly.
"Sing something," Peridot explained. "So it's not so gloomy."
Connie very nearly kicked Peridot into one of the holes lining the walls. Certainly, Connie was a pearl, and she knew how to sing and was happy to do so, but not for any random gem who gave the order. At least, not since she was Steven's pearl.
"I don't think so," Connie replied.
At this Peridot turned around, frowning. "You won't do it?"
Connie stopped and gave a pearl-like smile, perfect and blank. "You're not a Diamond," Connie said simply. "Let's hurry, Peridot." With that, Connie took the lead and continued to walk. From behind her, she heard Peridot say:
"So what kind of pearl are you, anyway?"
"An Aubergine Pearl," Connie said flatly and kept walking.
#
The elevator, when they found it, was practically buried. An injector had fallen from the cliffs and half-destroyed the elevator shaft, burying the entrance in rocks and dirt.
"Well, hell," Peridot said as she looked at the mess. I guess I'll have to build something to get us in there."
"What are you going to build?" Connie asked.
"Don't you worry about it, Pearl. Just… stand over there until I need you."
Connie stared at Peridot for a moment without moving, then looked at the buried entrance. The injector that had fallen was partially inside the shaft of the elevator, poking out at a dangerous angle.
"Pearl! Did you hear me?" Peridot had raised her voice now.
Ignoring Peridot, Connie ran towards the entrance, jumped, and gave the injector's body a shoulder barge. The sound was deafening, a metal and glass *CLANG* echoing off the barren walls of the kindergarten followed by *CRASH* as Connie's barge knocked the injector loose of its precarious footing and sent it dropping down the elevator shaft.
"We can climb down now," Connie said. She dissipated her uniform and summoned a set of climbing clothes: a pinkish-red tank top and matching shorts with a bright pink star splashed across it and climbing shoes.
Peridot stared, a bright yellow blush across her face. "I… could have done that," she muttered but stepped forward, anyway. She looked down the shaft and swallowed.
"Ugh… I'll just…" Peridot looked around frantically. "Okay!" She reached out for the leg of the injector which had been left in the ground when the rest of the machine fell into the elevator shaft. The leg wrench itself out of the ground, folded itself over a few times, before flattening out, then became a smooth disc. "You got us in. I'll get us down. Just," Peridot jump and landed neatly on the disk, "hop on up."
Connie raised her eyebrows and jumped onto the disk as well. It molded to her weight slightly, keeping her on balance. It wasn't as natural as being lifted by Steven, but it would do.
"Here we go," Peridot said with a smile. They floated over the elevator shaft and began to lower into it.
As they descended into the darkest, Connie glanced at Peridot. "If you can control metal, why didn't you just move the injector out of the way?"
Peridot blushed a brighter, clearer yellow. "I didn't think of it."
#
The Data Station under the Alpha Kindergarten was a dark, dry series of tunnels and caverns that somehow, even after thousands of years, smell of rot. The lingering smell of decomposition stained everything it touched and left a taste on Connie's tongue. Even with Peridot and Connie's gems lit up, the darkness closed in on them, snatching at them from where the light faded.
"Ugh! This place is a mess!" Peridot said as she kicked a rock. "How are we supposed to find anything in here?"
"According to the corruption notice, the terminal is due north from here," Connie said.
"Oh?" Peridot smiled. "And what's the best route?"
Keeping the frown off her face, Connie closed her eyes. She felt the map of the area moving and twisting around in her mind before opening her eyes. "Here," she said, projecting the map from her gem, "is the most direct route according to the map, but…" Connie looked around.
The nearest terminal to them, which would have been built to be the first line of contact for this section of the Data Station, was broken, the screen cracked, and half-buried in the rubble.
Peridot sighed. "But considering the lack of infrastructure in the Station, it won't be that easy," she grumbled. "Fine. Follow me, Pearl. Stay close and don't touch anything. The security system might still be active, even after all this time."
"Please don't get us lost, Peridot," Connie said cheerfully. She saw Peridot pause a second and bristle before continuing to walk.
They headed into the darkness, Connie keeping her shoulders square and steady so that her light wouldn't move, but looking around as she walked. Part of her didn't want to - Connie didn't much like kindergartens or farms - but this was Pink's first kindergarten, an Era One Kindergarten. Connie couldn't help but be curious.
Unlike modern kindergartens, the Alpha Kindergarten Data Station was something of a mess and showed signs that it would have been even if it hadn't been in disrepair. There was no sense of the clean ordered lines of a modern kindergarten, no sections of different gems absorbing different minerals so that the ground could be broken down for vegetables, fruit, and grass. Everything was so wasteful. The ground, even as far down as they were, was sucked dry of life and left to sit, wasting the space and its further potential. It went on for yards, then miles, nothing but wasted space.
As they turned a corner Peridot stopped suddenly with a groan.
"Pearl!" Peridot said with an annoyed tone. "We've reached a dead end!"
"Yes, we have," Connie said and smiled. Other than that, she did nothing.
Peridot turned and stared at Connie for a few minutes. "Well, do something!" She said at last. "Recalculate the route!"
"I can't find us another way," Connie said. "The map isn't going to show the blockages. We'll have to look around for a way through. Or break through the rubble."
Peridot groaned and pushed past Connie to go back the way they'd come. Connie turned to watch her walk before sighing to herself.
"Peridot!" Connie called and walked to catch up with the other gem. "I'll help you look. It'll be faster."
"Well, obviously," Peridot said as she looked around. "You look to the right. But don't go out of talking distance."
"You're not a Diamond, Peridot," Connie reminded Peridot cheerfully but walked to the right side of the last room they'd been in to search for a passage, anyway.
It was clear within a few minutes that they weren't going any farther forward by simply backtracking one room, so they backtracked one more tunnel and began their search again. But the walls this far into the Station were unyielding without any sign of a passage.
"Maybe the collapse cut off this part of the Station from the other," Connie said mostly to herself. "Maybe drilling straight down to the area from the surface of the kindergarten would have been a better idea?"
"Pearl?" Peridot asked behind her.
"Yes, Peridot?" Connie called.
There was a pause before Peridot answered. "What sort of Pearl are you, exactly?"
"I'm Pink Diamond's Aubergine Pearl," Connie said, almost surprising herself with her straightforward answer. Steven would hate to hear it, but a year couldn't change that she was a pearl. She could be 'Connie' when she wanted, but she would always be a pearl.
"I see," Peridot's strangely sullen answer.
Connie looked over her shoulder to find Peridot looking right at her.
"What is it, Peridot?" Connie asked as she turned around fully.
"Nothing!" Peridot said and marched into the nearest tunnel.
Sighing, Connie reluctantly followed, and she took her time doing so. When she finally strolled into the previous cavern, she found Peridot crouched in front of some rubble. Frowning, Connie toyed with the idea of standing back and saying nothing. However, part of her felt bad for being so cold to Peridot.
It wasn't Peridot's fault she treated Connie like any old made-to-order servant. Most pearls, when given over to a new gem temporarily, would treat a new gem like their owner until returned to their rightful place. It was the nature of pearls, after all. It was hardly Peridot's fault that Connie was a Diamond's pearl, a servant but no gem's servant but her owner's at the same time. Convincing herself she needed to be more accommodating, Connie put on her best pearl-smile and walked over to where Peridot was.
"Can I help you with anything, Peridot?" she asked.
"No need, Pearl, but thank you!" Peridot practically sang, then laughed to herself in a very cute nasally chuckle.
Connie's smile became more genuine. It was nice to have Peridot happy, even if they didn't get along.
"What did you find?" Connie asked, her voice laced with excitement.
Peridot half turned to look over her shoulder, an adorable and smug smile on her face. She looked like a green kitten.
"I found a working terminal! I'm going to turn the robonoids and let them guide us."
Connie froze, her smile stuck on her face.
Missing Connie's reaction completely, Peridot laughed again and turned back to the rubble which Connie now saw was a tipped over piece of terminal, still connected to the wall by veins of faintly glowing lines in the floor. Pressing her back teeth together for a moment, Connie took a slow breath in. The air smelled even more of rot this far into the cavern.
"Peridot," Connie said as nicely and subserviently as she'd ever spoken. "Is that a good idea?"
"Of course it is," Peridot said dismissively. "Now watch this!"
Peridot tapped on the terminal and it began to glow faintly. The veins connecting it to the system lit up and traced up the surrounding walls and around previously invisible boxes, a half dozen of them in all, set around the room. Connie clenched her fist and pictured the underwater temple. She willed her heart to stop speeding up as the slots in the wall opened and revealed a single robonoid in each hole.
They were covered in dirt and old, but otherwise undamaged. Their sensors lit up sending faint blue light around the room and as a unit they crawled forward and hopped down out of the wall. Their jittery, skittering movement reminded Connie of the swarm of bugs on Yellow Diamond's old Moon Base. The sensors swiveled around the room, before all centering on Peridot and Connie. They moved forward as a unit, stopped just feet from them.
"You see?" Peridot said triumphantly. "They're old, but they'll do. Robonoids! We're looking for terminal Alpha dash HX9. Guide us there!"
The robonoids stood still a moment, all their lights blinking, before turning red.
"Unauthorized personnel in the Data Station," they said in a single voice coming from all six of them.
"What?" Peridot gasped. "No, you stupid clods. I have authorization from Lotus Diamond himself!"
The robonoid began skittering towards them.
"Peridot…" Connie said edging towards her.
"Pearl, be quiet," Peridot snapped. "Now listen here, you outdated hunks of cloddy tech." She pulled out the communicator that Steven had assigned them. "This is from Lotus Diamond giving us permission to be here, so shape up!"
Simultaneously, the robonoids honed in on the communicator and scanned it. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the whole of the swarm made an angry noise.
"Unauthorized personnel in the Data Station. Commencing elimination of all threats."
"No, you stupid hunks of junk!" she said, not reacting to the swarms warming up their weapons.
"Peridot!" Connie said urgently.
"Pearl, I said be qu–"
"Peridot, look out!"
Connie yanked Peridot toward her in time for the blast of energy from all six robonoids to miss her. However, the blast didn't center on Peridot's gem but on the communicator. The attack hit and the communicator shattered.
"Our communicator!" Peridot cried.
"Who cares? Run before that's us!" Connie said, pulling Peridot toward the tunnel leading back the way they'd come.
They had just enough time to slip around the corner before another shot hit the wall behind them. The tunnel shook and pearl-sized chunks of stone rained down on them, hitting the floor and breaking apart. Connie tried not to look at them.
"They're going to bring the whole place down on us!" Peridot screamed, her hand now gripping Connie's tightly.
"Never mind that; keep running!" Connie shouted back.
#
The robonoids might have been old, but they were smart. Connie knew the way out. The map in her pearl was etched into her mind and she tried to follow it, to lead them to safety. She reasoned that by getting out of the data station they could get the robonoids to stand down. Or they could at least get back to the warp pad and get away. But the robonoids were having none of that. Every time Connie made a dash for the way out or pushed Peridot in the right direction, the Robonoids would shoot at the passage. If they didn't collapse it completely, their firepower made it impossible to pass through. In trying to avoid getting Peridot or herself shattered, they forced Connie to lead them deeper into the station.
They ran until Peridot tripped and ended up on the ground, dusty and exhausted. Connie was almost dragged down when Peridot fell, but managed to keep her feet and even dragged Peridot forward a little.
"Peridot! Get up! Hurry!" Impatient and trying to save their lives, Connie heaved Peridot over her shoulder, turned, and ran.
"Pearl!" Peridot shouted. "They're getting closer! Pearl, do something!"
"They're trying to—AH!" Connie ducked and skidded to a stop as a blast passed over her head and hit the top of the passageway ahead of her.
"Pearl, left! I see some light!" Peridot screamed, pointing to Connie's left.
Without hesitation, Connie threw herself to her left, and let her reflexes pull her legs under her. She had her footing in an instant and kept running. To the left was a large cavern that unlike the rest of the data station was lit up. However, the light came from a single source, a fist-sized hole in the wall about eye-height to Connie. Connie slid to a stop in front of the wall and looked out of the hole. It was half an arm's length long and slightly bigger than Connie's closed fist.
"Pearl! Smash down the wall. Like you did you with the injector."
Connie gritted her teeth for a moment before barking, "It's too thick; I can't."
"Pearl, do something! They're coming!"
Pearl looked over her shoulder to see the robonoids slowly advancing on them. Now that they had them cornered, the robonoids advanced on them in the same diamond pattern that Connie had been taught to use by the Pink Stars, their red eyes centering in on them.
Putting Peridot down on her feet, Connie put both hands on Peridot's face.
"It's up to you now. I don't have time to explain. Find a warp pad and get help. I can hold them until then."
"What?! But–"
"You can do this, Peridot!" Connie shouted, then leaned in and kissed Peridot's gem. When she pulled away, Peridot was gapping, blushing yellow again. "And I'm sorry about this." Connie took her hands off Peridot's face and summoned her weapon.
Peridot gasped, her eyes going wide, but she'd barely formed her mouth into the first syllable of a cry when Connie lunged forward and plunged her sword into Peridot's chest. In the second between Connie's strike and Peridot's form dissipating, Connie spoke.
"Get Steven!" she said. Then Peridot was gone in the cloud of mist.
Connie grabbed Peridot's gem as she rolled forward out of the way off of several blasts. Then, hoping she remembered how Era one robonoids worked, she threw her sword at the nearest one, hitting it squarely in the eye and causing it to skitter around wildly. To her relief, her knowledge was spot on. The other five robonoids in the group turned toward the injured one to scan it. She wouldn't get away with that again, but it gave her time to press herself against the wall and shove her hand through the hole in the wall.
The passage was tight and scraped Connie's skin as she pushed her hand through, but eventually, she felt the sun on her hand and was able to open it. Quickly Connie dropped Peridot's gem outside, then made her hand as small as possible and pulled it back through the hole. It came out bloody and raw in places, but she ignored it, turned, and took a deep breath.
Hoping her luck wouldn't run out, Connie dashed past the robonoid while they finished their scan and rushed out the door of the cavern, dissipating her sword as she did so. However, she wasn't quite fast enough, and a blast hit her right shoulder on the way out, knocking her to her knees. Gasping, Connie knew immediately it broke her shoulder. She didn't dare look at it, but staggered to her feet and ran as fast as her legs could carry her.
Without Peridot's yelling, Connie could hear the metallic clicking of the robonoids legs chasing after her. They weren't shooting anymore, but possibly they were simply going to chase Connie down until, like Peridot, she fell on her own. And there would be no one to pick her up. Connie pressed her back teeth together. She wasn't going to get shattered here.
Turning and summoning her sword again, Connie threw it as hard as she could with her left arm. It was her non-dominant hand, but it would do. The robonoids shot at her sword to knock it down, but while the blast knocked her sword away, it didn't dissipate it. In fact, the blast reflected off the sword and hit a nearby cavern wall, dropping a shower of rock onto one of the robonoids, burying it.
Connie rolled forward and made a run for her sword, barely dodging more blasts. She grabbed her sword with her left hand and held it in front of her with the wide flat edge facing the robonoids. They stopped. Connie had a wall to her back and four robonoid in front of her, but now she had a plan. She allowed herself to quickly take a deep breath. The air tasted like metal.
"Come get me," she whispered. Then she lunged forward.
Rolling between two robonoids Connie attempted to make them shoot her. But they had learned. They backed up and let her roll past unharmed. Connie rolled onto one knee and glared. She was going to have to be aggressive. Ignoring the pain running through her right limb and the blacking around the edges of her vision Connie dashed straight at one of the robonoids. It skittered back, but Connie was faster, swiping at it quickly. Her sword bounced off his hard outer shell, but it still didn't shoot at her. Then, Connie felt a sharp pain in the back of her left knee. She dropped her entire body as she fell, rolling onto her back and shutting off the light from her pearl. Connie rolled away, in pain but determined, and held her breath for a moment.
In the dark she saw the four robonoids turning their lights around the room, searching for her. Slowly, Connie began to breathe and pushed herself to sit up. She felt blood coming from her leg and shoulder. The robonoids were still scanning around the room for her, blinded in the dark, but searching for her gem. The idea to change into her martial arts outfit, and wrap some fighting tape around her body occurred to her, even if that would mean activating her gem and alerting the robonoids to her presence. However, getting out of the room without them seeing her would be next to impossible, anyway. She breathed evenly as Rayne had taught her and reached towards the nearest robonoid, only visible to her by its glowing, scanning eye. As it slowly crawled forward Connie waited in the darkness and measured the distance between her outstretched left fist. When it was just out of reach, and already scanning her hand, she struck.
Connie reared her fist back then thrust it forward, summoning her sword and stabbing the robonoid in the eye, impaling it on her sword, then she rolled forward, pushed herself to her feet, and changed clothes as he rushed toward the next one. The stones on the floor cut her feet through the wrap, but she felt most comfortable in her martial arts clothes and wraps. She didn't light the room again, moving in the darkness and flinging the impaled robonoid off her sword while getting a wall behind her so she could face the three remaining robonoids without them circling behind her. The robonoid now closest to her widened its focus, found her gem, and fired. Connie simply put her sword in front of her gem and swung. The blast pushed her back towards the wall, but bounced off her sword and hit the robonoid. Its eye went dark. The last two robonoid rushed toward her, firing wildly. Connie jumped and spun, slashing one in the eye and bouncing its blast into a nearby wall. The impact shook the room, rocks fell, the final robonoid's eye went dark.
Standing perfectly still and alert for ten seconds, Connie waited for another attack, but all she heard was the subtle sound of metal scraping against rock. Cautiously, she turned back on her light and saw one of three dead robonoids and a hole in the wall. Through the hole was a terminal, but the scraping sound was coming from the other direction where Connie had come from. She kept an eye on the hole but edged around it toward where she'd come from, back down the passage toward where she'd shoved Peridot out. Her left leg was about to give out and her shoulder felt like it had taken permanent damage but she forced herself to keep walking until she found the source of the sound. The single robonoid that had been buried before had crawled out of the rubble. It's two back legs were crushed, and it was dragging itself along by its two front legs. Its eye was cracked, making it blind. Connie limped up to it and picked it up. The robonoids' two front legs flailed harmlessly. Assured she wasn't going to take any more damage, Connie turned carefully and headed back to the hole in the wall and the terminal.
#
As if the Diamonds had finally decided to smile on her, the terminal revealed by the blast was Terminal Alpha dash HX9. Connie set the damaged robonoid on it and watched it settle down into recharge mode. Connie pushed down the urge to destroy it out of caution and decided to leave it for the moment. Instead, she tapped the terminal and used her rank to access it. She half expected more robonoids, but her vision was nearly all black and she couldn't feel her injuries anymore. She was seconds from losing consciousness and credited her casual actions to that. However, there weren't any more robonoids, instead, terminal unlocked. It referred to her by Rayne's designation, but she ignored that. At least she could find what they had come here to find.
The information in the terminal wasn't unusual by any standards. It was probably the original terminal for the Alpha Kindergarten and simply listed the gems that were created there. Connie scrolled through the lists, her vision going more and more black. She had alsmost blacked out when something on the screen caught her eye. At first, she thought she hadn't seen it, but upon forcing herself to focus she saw that it was true. It was about the Rebel Rose Quartz and her origins in the Alpha Kindergarten.
"So this is where she's from?" Connie muttered to herself as she opened the details of the log.
At first, nothing looked out of the ordinary, but upon accessing deeper levels of the log she found two things. The log concerning Rose Quartz wasn't from Era 1, it was from the beginning of Era 3, and it didn't show who created it; plus, the log details had been hacked into recently then patched up. Someone had been there.
Connie looked around, the darkness around at the edges of the room, and her vision snatching at her. She looked back at the log and navigated out of the details. The thing that had caught her eye wasn't an image of Rose Quartz. It was a shield that she'd seen often; Steven's shield. The round pink concave disk with a flower motif was unmistakable. Connie hadn't thought about that shield since she realized Steven was pink Diamond. Also, he had displayed that shield since she found out about it. When Steven summoned a shield now, it was a plain pink shield made of thick plains of hexagons.
Frowning, Connie kept scrolling through the log, but there were no real details about Rose Quartz or her shield. It was just the same information about her and her rebellion that Connie already knew, just with added details about her origins as a Quartz soldier in the Alpha Kindergarten. Only Connie wouldn't call them details exactly. It was more like speculation about Rose Quartz's origins. Connie scrolled back and looked for more information on Rose Quartz in other logs, but there was nothing. The Era 3 log was the only reference to her.
"If she was made here, there would be references to her. When she went rouge, there should have been something declaring her an enemy or noting her facet… but there's nothing."
Going back to the Era 3 file Connie noted there was no Facet or Cut listed for Rose Quartz.
"What in hells… I don't underst–"
A drill came through the ceiling and smashed into the terminal, forcing Connie back and flatting the robonoid. Connie waved her hand in an attempt to clear the air in front of her face. When the dust finally settled, Connie found herself staring up at a giant woman who was even bigger than Opal. On her right shoulder was Axelle, on her left was Steven and Peridot.
"Pearl!" Peridot cried. "Are you okay?"
Connie looked down at the smashed terminal, then up at the unknown fusion. She was vaguely pink haired with a round visor and a pearl in the middle of her forehead. She also dressed like a pearl, but not an average one, a performer pearl of the highest order. She also had four arms, one of which was reaching out for Connie with a gem in the middle of the palm.
Smiling, Connie stumbled forward towards Ruby's gem. Before she could reach it, Steven was by her side.
"Connie!" he said softly. "Are you okay? Where are the robonoids?"
"Destroyed," Connie said. "They weren't so tough."
Steven helped her onto the fusion's hand and they rose out of the twilight and into the sun.
"Hello there, Connie," the fusion said.
"Hi, Ma'am," Connie said softly. At this point, she couldn't feel anything and wasn't sure why she was still conscious.
"Sardonyx," Steven said. "Get us home?"
"My pleasure, My Diamond," Sardonyx said. The drill, which Connie noticed was actually a huge hammer made of two fists and a staff, Connie made a mental note to compliment someone about it later. And fell against Steven for a rest.
#
Connie woke up hovering over her bed. Her gem wrapped her in what was her default outfit, the out she'd worn at the Era 4 ball. She fell towards the bed and let herself land on her back.
"I poofed again," Connie muttered then sighed and got out of the bed
Steven wasn't in the room with her, but she wasn't surprised. Likely, he was in the Throne Room. Adjusting her clothes from the fall onto the bed, Connie made sure she looked presentable and then walked out the door. In the hallways she passed quartz soldiers who stopped and let her pass without speaking to her but instead giving her a wide berth. It suited her just fine. The last several hours were a blank, and the time before that, in the data station, was blurry. However, she did remember one thing. Rose Quartz's origin files were fake and Steven could - at least at one point - materialize the same shield she used.
Of course, since the record was fake maybe it wasn't true. The record might have been lying. Connie had never seen the shield Rose Quartz used, though she knew it was a shield. However, that made sense. Rose Diamond made the Rose Quartzes; they were her first children. Rose Diamond summoned a shield and scythe, why wouldn't her beloved quartzes also summon one of her weapons. But Rose Diamond's shield was like Steven's shield now, plain hexagonal planes. None of that changed the fact - of course - that Steven had at one point summoned the same shield as Rose Quartz.
Maybe it was a conicidence. Maybe Rose Diamond had designed the rose quartz sheild as well as the rose quartz gem type and Steven had simply used to complete his fake identity.
Maybe not.
Taking the elevator down, Connie steeled herself for the conversation she was about to have.
"Bismuth," she said evenly.
"Pearl…" Bismuth muttered. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be serving His Clarity?"
"Bismuth. Tell me everything you know about Rose Quartz."