Memories
It was a rotation like any other in the human zoo when he was born, he was like most other humans. He was round squishy and VERY fragile. There was nothing exceptional about his birth, nor were there any abnormalities in the two donors that created him. By all accounts, he was a regular human, created by two regular humans. This human was quickly admitted to the zoo's nursery, a small place that had been seeing less and less humans enter as time went on due to the population of the zoo dwindling. Now it was nothing but a small room, with a single occupant that had recently been designated P-17. Cared for mostly by the amethysts, this seemingly normal human quickly demonstrated just how strange it was compared to most other humans in the now rather small zoo. Because by the zoo's standards, this human was by far the strangest they had ever seen. At least, internally...
"P-17, it's time for your regularly scheduled checkup, as ordered by PRIME-" Peridot looked up from her limb enhancer generated screen, squinting through her visor as she realized the nursery was entirely empty. She grabbed her triangle shaped hair, letting out a loud groan as her floating fingers slid down the side of her head.
"AMETHYSTS?!" She screamed, putting up with the constant BUFFOONERY of the guards was hard enough, but putting the HUMANS in danger?!- Before she could finish her train of thought, she was interrupted by loud banging and shuffling noises coming from… Inside of the station's walls?
"What the…" Her hand slowly reached out towards the single vent installed in the rather small nursery, that she now realized had been… Unscrewed. The groaning and banging of metal got louder and louder, before a defective Carnelian suddenly poked her head out of the vent.
"HE'S GONE!" She shouted, scrambling out of the vent, staring up at Peridot. "O-Oh, hello…" She grinned nervously, slowly stepping in front of the still open vent.
Peridot attempted to open her mouth to begin scolding the Carnelian, only to be interrupted as the door to the nursery flew open, the two guards who were supposed to be guarding P-17 spilled into the room, shouting as they did.
"DID YOU FIND HIM, WE LOOKED E-" Their gaze rapidly shifted from the small Carnelian to the Peridot, their faces turning an even whiter shade of purple as they froze in place.
Peridot rapidly looked between the two, rather unsure as to what exactly was going on.
"What do you mean by find…? Are you IMPLYING YOU HAVE LOST THE HUMAN?!" She shrieked, pointing a floating digit accusingly at them.
"W-Well h-he just so-sorta-" The amethyst with her gem located on her left hand stuttered, before being cut off by the other amethyst.
"H-He does this kinda stuff all the time, they just sorta climb outta that little thing and go running around, we thought they were messing around in the vents again, looking for something to fix- Or play with..." The amethyst with her gem located on her right hand spoke clearly before trailing off into a mumble.
"What do you mean FIX?! And PLAY WITH?! Are you implying a mere HUMAN- One that is approximately two point one years old is supposedly FIXING things to the point he wishes to PLAY WITH THEM?!" If Peridot was holding something, her floating fingers would have most likely attempted to crush it, instead she had to settle for grasping thin air. While she continued to vent her frustrations against thin air, the power to the entire room went out.
"W-WHAT THE-" Peridot desperately attempted to activate their limb enhancers built in light, before the power was suddenly restored only seconds after the initial blackout.
"Y-You're lucky P-17 is the only human here, or else whatever that defective-" Before she could fully recompose herself, or even finish her sentence the very familiar noise of something moving around in the station's walls was heard. A small pale child with messy brown hair slowly crawled out of the vent, that now seemed to be functioning properly as cold air was blown into the room.
"Huh, guess it was broken." The right-handed amethyst muttered, staring down at the child.
Peridot immediately scooped the giggling toddler up, her eyes bulging as she noticed the various fluids coating his body.
"WHY IS HE COVERED IN ALL- THIS?!" She motioned to the fluids that most likely should not be coating an organic body, while holding him firmly with her right set of floating fingers.
"Oh uh- I think he was fixing something, or maybe just playing with it? I dunno, but I guess the vents are working now." The left handed amethyst spoke up, examining the toddler who was now covered in glittering fluids, and holding a- Wait, that was Peridot's…
"MY OLD FINGER!" Peridot screeched, snatching the finger out of the giggling child's hands, whose face immediately turned sour.
"No wonder it kept on going missing, YOU KEPT ON GIVING IT TO HIM, IS THIS SOME KIND OF JOKE?!" They clutched the old finger, a finger that unsurprisingly also functioned as a tool.
"H-He just goes in the vents and comes back out with it, you think we know how to fix the vents?! W-We didn't even know they were broken before he crawled up in there!" The left handed amethyst stuttered.
"Yeah, he's like totally different from all the other humans we've raised, and we CAN'T take that thing away from him." The right handed amethyst nodded towards the old finger Peridot was holding "We were gonna bring it back to you, but y'know- All those fingers do the same thing right?"
"YES BUT THE POINT IS YOU LE-" Peridot's rant was interrupted by the small toddler she was holding began crying and screaming- And… Kicking? Ergh, what was this substance flowing out of its nose? Was this what the amethysts had to deal with? She shook the small child that was being held in her right set of floating fingers, as it continued grasping for the finger "Quiet- You…" She grumbled, as he began to clamber onto her arm.
"W-What's it doing?!" Peridot shrieked, as she began considering the option of detaching her right limb enhancer entirely to prevent this creature from getting any closer to her body.
"Oh, that's why we didn't bring it back, or uh- bother telling you." The right handed amethyst grinned smugly, watching Peridot struggle with the human who was now getting dangerously close to her body.
"I-It may do the same thing as all of my other fingers, but it's mine!" She shook her right arm, as the crying toddler got closer to her body- And by extension, her face.
"GARGH, FINE- FINE, TAKE THE FINGER!" She practically slammed the old finger into the toddler's face, as he immediately grabbed a hold of it with both of his hands, calming down instantly as he jammed it into his mouth, sucking on it like it was a pacifier.
"Ergh, has he been doing that…?" She stared at the two amethysts as her voice trailed off.
"A-All the t-time? H-Heh… Yup…" The left handed amethyst mumbled, while Peridot shuddered. Peridot slowly recomposed herself, taking a long, deep breath of the new fresh air that was entering the nursery despite the fact she had no need to breathe. That's when a thought slowly entered the back of her head, that this human… This so-called "smart" human, an "off-colour" human who was able to repair the vent could be used… TO DO ALL THE WORK SHE DIDN'T WANT TO! Being the lowest ranking Peridot meant SHE was usually the one doing all the crappy, simple repair jobs. While Prime-Peridot and 9KX both "optimized" and handled the human zoo's systems and repairs, repairs that were a CHALLENGE! And challenge was something a peridot lived for, to solve a problem no other gem could! Not to just sit around and be some kind of CARETAKER to these fragile organics- Something the AMETHYSTS should be doing… But this? This could be a real challenge, a challenge to "teach" this human how to do all the jobs SHE didn't want to do! If only she could convince PRIME… She glanced back over at the content human, and then back at the two guards, a smirk slowly spreading across her face "So, how would you like to help me with a new… Project?" Peridots gaze slowly shifted back to the two amethysts as she spoke. Both amethysts groaned in response.
"I'm telling you P, it's the RED- NO, THE RED WIRE!" Peridot squawked, snatching the wire cutter out of his hand, immediately recognizing the sour look that spread across the young boy's face, only now instead of crying, he let out a loud sigh.
"But Peridot!" The young boy moaned, staring at the exposed wires jutting out from the open panel in the wall.
"No BUTS!" The young boy began to snicker, as Peridot stared down at him.
"What's so funny?" She leaned in, staring at the five year olds face as he slowly seemed to stop snickering.
"B-Butts!" He began to laugh uncontrollably, dropping to his knees before he began rolling around on the floor laughing.
"What does that even- OH…" A slight smile crept up on her face, only for her to quickly shake her head, and grab a hold of the child "P, promise me you'll focus on what I'm about to tell you alright? I'll let you make another tool if you listen." She spoke in a far softer, kinder voice than she usually did, taking most of her willpower to do so as she grinned warmly at the child. He smiled back, his wide toothy smile revealing a gap in his front teeth.
'Ergh, why do I feel like my gem is MELTING whenever I see that smile? Am I defective, have I begun developing sentimental feelings for this tiny organic? Surely, I have not… Have I?' Peridot thought to herself, only to be interrupted by an amethyst who had stopped right behind her, her gem located where her left eye should have been.
"Oh snap, what's up Perry?!" The amethyst spoke. The human child giggled, slamming his fist into the now waiting fist of the amethyst.
"Eye, it's AWESOME to see you! Peridot was just gonna show me how to fix that flickering light up there by cutting these wires, isn't she SO SMART?!" His smile grew even wider, as he stared up in awe of Peridot, the flickering light above them in the long hallway they were in briefly flickering off again for a few moments, before turning back on.
"Well actually Perr- P, we should first check to see if any wires have been damaged before-"
"Cut 'em all Perry, she's probably just tryin' to make you as lame as she is" The amethyst cackled, as the young boy stared up at the two far larger gems, not sure what exactly to do.
"WHAT ARE YOU TELLING HIM, ARE YOU TRYING TO POISON HIS MIND WITH YOUR BRUTISH WAYS YOU CLOD?!" Peridot screamed, grabbing the amethyst by her shirt and attempting to pull her closer. The amethyst leaned away from her, seemingly afraid.
"S-So h-he's like y-yours or somethin'?" The amethyst mumbled, a slight grin barely visible on her face.
"HE'S MY HUMAN TO RAISE AND MY HUMAN TO TEACH!" Peridot shouted, only for her eyes to widen while the amethysts smirk slowly turned into a very large grin.
"I got her to ADMIT IT!" She shouted down at the corner, she said she's his MOTHER! Peridot proceeded to blush a violent pink, as the young boy who at this point was completely oblivious to the conversation had stuck his entire head into the panel, continuing to attempt his repairs. Three amethysts all emerged from behind the corner, all of them laughing hysterically as they approached the two.
"Dude, no way!" Righty spoke, still snickering.
"I never thought she'd admit it!" Lefty spoke, suddenly drawing the attention of P-17, as he stuck his head out from the open panel.
"Hey guys, what are you all doing here?!" A wide smile was plastered across his face as he waved at the group, one of whom was still laughing hysterically, an amethyst with her gem located on her forehead.
"Even Forehead's here, what are all of you guys doing?!" He asked, standing up next to the group, craning his neck up just to talk to them. All four amethysts began to snicker, nudging each other as they looked back to the still blushing Peridot.
"Ah well y'know, we were just talkin' to your MOTHER!" All four of them burst out into hysterics, as the young boy tilted his head.
"My mother? Oh, isn't she dead?" He bluntly spoke, as all four of them stopped laughing, the room suddenly becoming silent. Peridot was frozen in place, all four of the amethysts were frozen in place, and the child was just… Looking rather confused. Someone clearing their throat broke the silence, as all four of them spun around.
"What exactly are all four of you doing here playing with P-17? You're not on break are you?" The Peridot with a square-shaped head of hair spoke, wearing almost identical limb enhancers to the only other Peridot in the hallway. She gazed coldly at the four amethysts, while eye began to speak.
"We will immediately return to our stations, we apologize greatly for this intrusion on P-17's training 9KX." She saluted her, closing her eyes- Only to open them once again after realizing she was the only one saluting her, nudging the amethyst next to her. All four of them now saluted 9KX.
"P-Please don't tell Prime- Or worse, Holly Blue!" Lefty stuttered.
"Bah, you're all dismissed, don't let me catch you doing this again" The higher-ranking Peridot grumbled, waving the group away. Before she could blink, all four of them had sprinted back towards their posts.
"Square!" The young child hugged the limb enhancer boot of the Peridot, as a smile crept onto her face.
"It's good to see you too, Perry" She ruffled his hair with her limb-enhancer, as he giggled.
"Prime wouldn't be happy if she saw you doing that to him." Peridot grumbled, staring at Square.
"Oh please Peridot, don't act like I don't know what you were just talking about moments before I arrived." She snorted, placing her free hand on her hip as her other hand remained on Perry's head. Peridot responded by muttering incoherently. Square continued to speak "As you know, I'm here to take Perry BACK to the zoo. Because of how engrossed you two get when-" She winced, squinting "Gargh, just how bright is it in this place? These lights always get on my nerves…" She muttered, before turning back to Peridot to continue talking, not realizing Perry had left her grasp.
"We were doing something, Squa-'' Peridot was interrupted by Square before they could finish talking.
"You shall REFER to me as 9KX, "Peridot"." She smiled smugly at Peridot, who was currently weighing the pros and cons of poofing "Square" with an energy blast from her limb enhancers. Before Peridot could say anything, Square once again spoke.
"Wait, where's Pe-" Before she could finish her sentence, the entire hallway was plunged into darkness.
"PERRY?!" Peridot shrieked, a million scenarios ran through her head, one of which where Perry had accidentally cut the wrong wire, and had been shocked by the entire station's electrical power. The station's lights suddenly flickered back on, but they seemed dimmer, and were no longer blindingly bright.
"Oh. Well that's better. You could have done this a couple of hundred years ago, Peridot." Square looked up at the now dimmer lights, before looking back to the panel, only to see the two flailing legs of Perry.
"I did it! But uhm… I think I might be a little stuck!" He shouted from within the panel.
Square and Peridot both groaned, they both turned to each other and spoke in unison "I'll go get the soap…"
"Thankfully your vent and panel crawling days are over, ever since the "INCIDENT" that took place when you were approximately five point seven years old." Peridot grumbled, as a now ten year old Perry with his arm jammed into a panel inside of the Peridot control room fiddled with something out of sight, two screens that were previously turned off suddenly flickered back to life.
"Ah Peridot, clearly you're over-exaggerating my previous er- Logistical failures." The child giggled cheerfully as he stared up at Peridot.
"You were stuck in there for over an hour." She grumbled. Perry blushed a bright red and quickly looked back to his hand that was still jammed into the panel, and began to attempt to pull it out. Square leaned forward, inspecting the two screens that had recently been turned back on and that were now monitoring the choosening circle from two different angles.
"Aha, thank you Perry! You know, I think you do more work than Peridot does around here." Square snickered, turning back to the other screens that were monitoring various locations inside of the human habitat.
"The only reason HE's ABLE to do that is because I TAUGHT HIM! I've focused almost fifty percent of my time on him!" Peridot grinned proudly, as Square pushed her floating chair towards the two. Perry finally fell backwards as he dislodged his arm from the panel, groaning as his back hit the ground.
"Don't be brash Peridot, most amethysts in this place would shatter a gem to spend as much time as you do with Perry." As if to punctuate this point Square was making, a gentle tapping could be heard on the small viewing window into the hallway.
"Righty, it's been a considerable amount of time since I last saw you!" Although Perry's vocabulary was much like a Peridot's, his voice was still bustling full of excitement and wonder, unlike the smug nasally tone of most Peridots. Perry waved at Righty, who suddenly looked to her right, and quickly ran away. A scowling holly blue then walked past, briefly stopping to wave at Perry before chasing after the fleeing amethyst.
"Gargh, curses!" He held his messy mop of hair in his hands, muttering to himself as he rested his side against the wall. Square couldn't help but snicker as he watched him pull his hands down his face in a way almost identically to Peridot.
"You know, even PRIME-" Square's sentence was suddenly cut short, as a door to the right of them, branching off into a somewhat smaller room opened. A tall, green figure walked through the door and into the control room. She was clearly a Peridot, her hair roughly resembled two overlapping triangles, each coming to apex near the center of her head. At first glance you might think she was wearing Limb enhancers like most other Peridots, but upon closer inspection you'd realize that they were in fact her own limbs. Everyone in the room remained silent, except of course Perry, who slowly stood up.
"Has P-17 completed the repairs?" She stared at the two Peridots, both of whom immediately began talking over each other as they attempted to be the one to answer first. Prime rolled her eyes, attempting to make out whatever it was they were saying- Only for another voice to cut through both of theirs.
"I have successfully repaired the screens!" Perry stood up, smiling proudly as he clutched what appeared to be some kind of self made green wrench in his left hand. His hair was as messy as ever, but didn't reach past down his shoulders. Despite all of his hard work and the amethysts encouragement, he could never gain almost any muscle. He was simply naturally skinny and lanky.
"Exceptional work P-17, you may return to your habitat." She motioned for the door, as a disappointed expression rapidly spread across the boys face, he turned to the screens, watching the humans go about their business of bliss and happiness, seeming rather discontent as he realized he'd soon be joining them separated from his oh so precious tools. "I-I don't wanna…" He muttered, before immediately recomposing himself, and beginning to speak again "I-I'd like to b-but I believe I have long since s-surpassed their combined intellect and-also-I'd-like-to-keep-on-working-on-Peridots-limb-enhancers." He spoke the last sentence incredibly quickly, as he nervously began fiddling with his clothes, the same as all humans wore in the zoo.
"Yes, your intelligence has far since outgrown your pathetic counterparts. Pah, you're even smarter than those CLODS who call themselves guards." Peridot grumbled, glancing back at the window connecting them to the hallway. "If it were up to me, I'd let you-" She was cut off by prime.
"But it's not up to you, is it?" Her voice was stern, and her hands remained clasped behind her back as she spoke. She turned her head back to Perry. "I'm sorry P-18, but perhaps 9KX will allow you to work on their limb enhancers tomorrow." Both Perry and Square smiled, the sour mood he had been put in was immediately lifted.
"Thanks Prime, you're the best!" His grin didn't falter as he dumped various tools he was holding out of his pockets and onto the table, excitedly giggling to himself as he ran down the hallway and towards the entrance to the habitat.
"Oh did you really have to send him away? You know he doesn't fit in with the humans in there." Square sighed, turning to a screen as an amethyst guard happily escorted the boy back inside the habitat.
"You're right, I didn't have to send him back, but I did. Because we needed some time alone." She spoke seriously, her eyes darting around the room, and to the window. She immediately noticed Lefty staring at them, she groaned loudly before she pressed a small button located under the table in the center of the room, causing the window to turn black almost instantly.
"Now that's sorted- It's time we talk about "Perry"." Her voice took on a deadly serious tone as she looked between both of the Peridots, each of them shaking with fear.
"You two… Didn't seriously forget, did you?"
"F-Forget what, P-Prime?" Peridot barely squeaked out, still quaking in her limb enhancers.
"Why his CREATION-DAY of course!" She smiled, her serious tone completely dissipating from her voice as both Peridot and Square breathed a sigh of relief, only to become visibly distressed once again.
"THAT'S TODAY?!" Both of them shouted in unison.
"Why yes, I thought we all agreed on this last year? We would celebrate his tenth year of being alive, I've even gotten permission from Holly Blue!" She pointed to a holographic document that lay on the table separating them, the signature of holly blue clearly visible
"Oops…" Is all that Peridot could muster up.
"You two- You two did remember to inform the amethysts of this, did you not?" Prime spoke once again, this time glaring at the two gems standing in front of them.
"I-Er, I-It was uh… You see…" Peridot cleared her throat loudly as she raised her right arm to her face "May you excuse us for one moment?" She stared worryingly at Square. Before Prime could say anything, both of them were outside of the control room. A brief shouting match was heard, followed by rapid footsteps slowly getting further away. The door opened, and Peridot stepped back into the control room "Er- Was there anything else?" Peridot nervously asked.
"Ergh.. Well your "replacement" limb enhancers are here." She grumbled, pointing to the sleek metal black box that sat behind her. Peridot gasped, her eyes widening.
"B-But that means I won't be able to request a replacement for another ten years…" She muttered, staring at the box.
"That's why we'll be giving your old enhancers to Perry- I presume you've both been calibrating your enhancers for human usage in preparation for this? Even though his body is rather… Similarly shaped to a standard Peridot." She sighed, briefly remembering when most Peridots didn't have a height complex.
"O-Of course, w-we uh… Well he's been learning a lot about them but you see it's- It's uh… The thing is…" She pointed her right arm at the black box, a gravity beam surrounding the sleek object as it was rapidly pulled towards her. She grunted as she felt the weight of the box in her hands, and began to move towards the exit "T-They'll be ready shortly!" She wheezed, hoping her new limb enhancers would lessen the load of her old limb enhancers.
Perry sighed, staring up at the artificial sky. It was beginning to get late- Or at least, that's what the sky told him. He knew it wasn't real, but it was the only "sky" he knew. That, and space. He much rathered looking out into space, the vastness of it all, the beauty… Most gems wouldn't blink twice when looking out at the endless void of nothing but blinking stars and swirling clouds of space dust. He didn't want to seem- Seem like them, like the rest of his dumb, stupid species. Why wasn't he a gem, why couldn't he just fit in with people he liked? His gaze slowly shifted to another girl, just a bit older than him.
"P-14…" He longingly stared at her as her and her friends made flour-necklaces and bracelets for one another, like they almost always do… She was giggling, having the time of her life. He so desperately wanted to go say hello, to say anything- But his mind was blank, if he said hello, what did he say next? There was no manual that he could read that would tell him the problem with his mind, or a line of code he could write that would have a desired outcome. No, this was- Messy, just talking- Just… Just… He didn't know what she'd say, and he was scared.
"Oh, hey P-17!" His vision was suddenly obstructed by P-14, as he fell backwards down the hill he was sitting on, rolling and rolling until he slammed into the artificial tree, groaning as he came to a complete halt. He looked up at the top of the hill, and saw P-14 giggling. She quickly ran down the hill towards him, offering him a hand to stand up.
"Sorry P-17, I always see you sitting away from us and thought I'd say hi!" She smiled warmly at him, he felt his heart melt into slurry. His brain was on fire, his thoughts were garbled, was this some kind of system error his brain was facing? What would Peridot do…
"Go-Go-Gooooood to see you!" He took a hold of her hand, feeling a million emotions rush through him as he grasped onto the slightly older girl's hand. He pulled himself up, as she tilted her head at him "You're silly, why do you hang out with those er- Gem people so much?" She stared at him, eyes wide as she waited for an answer.
"Well-I-It's-Uh… It's because I uh, they're my… Friends?" He gulped, feeling tears begin to form in his eyes. "Friends, yeah- As if I have any of those…" He mumbled, sniffling as he tried to stand up, only to be brought into an embrace by P-14, as she hugged him tightly "Ah, don't cry P-17, you're weird but I still like you, we can always be friends! Er- Or do you want to be called… Perry?" She stared at him, smiling. He didn't want this, he just wanted a friend, a human friend- But why, why did he desire what he already had so much of? Why did it have to be the touch of a human? It all felt so right to be hugged, to want to talk with her and her friends for hours about all of his problems and listen to theirs, even the others… Why… Why did he want it so much? Why did he have to be human, why did he NEED THEIR PITY?! He broke away from her grasp, running off towards the door as he fought back tears, she reached out to try to call him back, but he was already gone "P-17…" She whispered, sighing as she turned back to her group of friends.
"Dude, did you hear about what's happening today?!" Forehead leaned against a wall in the hallway next to the hidden door leading into the Habitat. While Skinny-Jasper and Carnelian both stood with their arms crossed, seeming rather bored at their post.
"C'mon, tell me what's happenin'!" Carnelian squealed as they bounced up and down.
"Ergh, I don't know how she packs so much energy into such a small body" Skinny grinned as she spoke, looking down at the tiny Carnelian.
"I'm not SMALL, I'm COMPACT!" Both of them began giggling, before being interrupted by Forehead
"Look- This is SERIOUS alright? Even Holly Blue and PRIME are in on it" Both of them gulped, staring up at forehead, waiting for whatever terrible news she would soon bring. "It's… Perry's Creation Day." Both of them tilted their heads, utterly confused
"Huh?" Skinny was the first to speak.
"Perry's getting his own day, SWEET! What'd he do this time? Did he break the station's power again?!" Carnelian cackled, only to have a sharp glare shot back at her in return by Forehead.
"No- It's something about the day he was… Created? Ten years ago, today." Forehead explained, still seeming rather unsure herself.
"Dude, I remember when we had to go around looking for him when he was still like, two." Skinny recalled, chuckling as she scratched her chin.
"Too bad I'm the only one who can fit in the vents anymore!" Carnelian snickered, before once again saying something "So like, what's the catch dude?! Are we all gonna watch Holly Blue and the Peridots have fun with Perry or something?!" She moaned, Skinny nodding beside her.
"I doubt we'll be doing much else other tha-'' Skinny was interrupted once again by forehead.
"All human zoo guards are on break until the "celebrations" are over" A wide grin spread across all three of their faces.
"It starts in ten minutes, so I'm bookin' it to the control room before it's full!" Forehead shouted as she began her sprint towards the control-room mid sentence, disappearing behind a corner.
"Dude. We cannot miss this." Skinny stared down at Carnelian, who was nodding rapidly in response.
Perry finished wiping the tears from his eyes as he sat with his legs pulled up against his head, staring down at the ground between his feet while his back was pressed up against the wall to the enclosure.
"If only I was a Peridot…" He muttered into his legs, looking out at the deserted fields of perfectly green grass that lay before him, given an orange-tint by the fake sun setting.
"I-It doesn't matter though, tomorrow they'll let me work on Squares limb enhancers, and I'll be sure to optimize them to the best of my abilities!" He grinned, turning his head to stare at the hidden door he had sat just beside. "B-But what if… What if my best isn't good enough? What if I'm just like the rest of the humans, what if… What if I really am just nothing but some stupid organic like the rest of them!" He slammed his fist into the ground, as he shakily took a deep breath. He stared up at the orange-sky, and let out a deep sigh.
It was at this point the door he was leaning against flung open, sending him face first into the soft, artificial ground. He groaned loudly, as he slowly flipped himself over and stared up at the two figures that appeared in the doorway.
"PERRY WE GOTTA GO MAN!" He was suddenly scooped up by Carnelian as they bolted out of the enclosure and down the hallway, despite her being a good head shorter than him "W-Where on homeworld are you taking me?!" He yelled, turning to see Skinny closely following behind them.
"It's a surprise, dude." Skinny calmly said, a smile still present on her face.
"Heck yeah it's a surprise, and it's gonna be freakin' awesome!" Carnelian laughed giddily. Before long they had finally made it to the control room.
"W-Wait, does prime know-" Before he could even finish his sentence, he was dropped in front of the door to the Control room. He looked to the window, but noticed it was blacked out. He took a deep breath, and stepped towards the door. It slowly slid open, revealing...
"Happy Creation day, Perry!" The quartz soldiers shouted, along with the three peridots and a few other miscellaneous gems who worked in the zoo.
"Wh-What?!" Perry was utterly taken aback by the scene before him, his eyes wide as the Peridot, Square and Prime both stood in front of the large group, with Holly Blue by their side.
On the table was a sleek black box.
"P-17." Holly Blue spoke. Perry spun around, staring up at her.
"Y-Yes my uh- Dia uh- The uh… Uhm…" He rapidly looked around the room for guidance, but everyone was still staring at him- He didn't really like the feeling of so many eyes on him at once, but he quickly shifted his gaze back to holly blue who let out a deep sigh.
"You may refer to me as Holly, P-17." She grumbled, her face showed an rather odd expression, one Perry couldn't place.
"Wh-What's going on, Holly?" He mumbled, still rather scared of Holly Blue due to the various stories the ameythsts would share with him about her.
"I- Am impressed." She spoke through gritted teeth, clasping both of her hands together to avoid them from shaking "You are an exception to the usual non-sentient jabber of regular organics, and because of that- And for your rather exceptional work in the recent years, we have decided to… Reward you." She took a deep breath, before continuing. The rest of the room was silent, Perry's eyes were wide with shock "Due to your loyal service to Prime and for doing jobs SOME deemed below them…" She coldly glanced at Peridot, who felt like retreating into her gem as her cold gaze lingered, before returning to Perry "Both I and Prime have decided to celebrate your tenth "creation day", as an achievement to your various technological achievements, and the furtherment of the human species. From animals, to engineers." A smug smile spread across her face, she took great pleasure in knowing that MOST humans were below her- Even if HE was the exception to the rule. "Now then, why don't I leave you all to your… "Fun". I'm sure you'll appreciate OUR gift, Perry." She stepped towards the door, walking outside and down the hall.
Everyone was silent for almost ten seconds after she left, nobody dared utter a word, Perry didn't even breathe. Then, skinny broke the silence.
"I-Is she really gone…?" She mumbled, looking around the room packed full of gems.
"LET'S HAVE SOME FUN, HAPPY CREATION DAY PERRY!" Righty and Lefty both shouted in unison as they hopped up on the table. The room suddenly exploded with chatter as the gems began talking to one another, mostly relating to Holly Blue's recent speech.
"That went better than expected" Peridot groaned, now wearing a far less worn, and slightly more advanced version of her previous limb enhancers. She turned to Square who was currently looming over the sleek metallic box.
"Ergh, let's skip the nonsense and move straight to the opening of your present!" Square was inches away from opening it herself, before Prime stepped towards Perry.
"Perry, you've proven yourself as an amazing engineer. In all of our eyes, you're not just another human. You've grown so much since we first saw you- And… Well, I think it's about time you got a reward." She smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder as tears began to well up in his eyes.
"Y-You guys…" He mumbled, tears streaming down his face.
"GARGH, IT'S JUST LIKE THE NURSERY!" Peridot screamed, having an almost PTSD-like flashback of what previously took place, only to be smacked by Square. Perry was pulled into a hug, as Prime wrapped their arms around the skinny boy's body. He sniffled, before his crying eventually stopped.
"Thank you- So much!" He wiped the tears from his eyes.
"Didn't humans only cry when they were distressed? PERRY, ARE YOU DISTRESSED, DO YOU NEED OUR ASSISTANCE?!" Peridot practically screamed, grabbing a hold of him with both of her hands and shaking him violently. He laughed, before gently pushing her away "I'm fine- I just… It was all sorta… I dunno, I guess humans really are just weird huh?" He shrugged, standing up.
"Well don't worry about HUMAN stuff anymore Perry, because from this day forward, you're an HONORARY PERIDOT!" He gasped, clasping his cheeks with both of his hands "No way…" He mumbled, staring up at prime as if to confirm Square's statement. She simply nodded, a smile still present on her face.
"Just know from now on, we won't think of you as any different from how we see each other." Prime spoke clearly, her voice cutting through the rest of the chatter.
"THAT MEANS THEY'RE GONNA START TRYING TO TAKE CREDIT FOR YOUR WORK, PERRY!" Eye screamed, laughing maniacally before being dragged into another conversation.
"Ergh… Well, I think it's about time you opened your PRESENT PERRY!" Peridot made sure she emphasized the final two words, speaking them rather loudly as everyone in the room suddenly began shushing each other, followed by elbowing each other, followed by snickering, and finally more shushing. The room was almost silent once again, as Perry slowly walked towards the sleek metal black box resting on the table Square was standing next to.
"Well Perry, open it up!" Square smiled warmly, motioning to the box with one of her floating fingers.
Perry slowly reached out, as everyone in the rather small control room watched on in anticipation. He began to lift the black box's lid, and revealed…
"Whoa, is this what I think it is?!" He gasped, staring at the set of limb enhancers, and a very peridot-esque green jumpsuit next to it.
"Do you like it?!" Peridot leaned forward, as did almost most other gems in the room, trying to read the expression on Perry's face.
"The clothes were the hardest part… There's not many Peridots who are created without clothes, after all" PRIME spoke again, as a grin very slowly formed on Perry's face.
"Do-Do I like it? I-I FIND IT EXTREMELY ACCEPTABLE AND UP TO THE STANDARDS OF A PERIDOT!" He shouted, raising both hands as a massive smile was plastered across his face. The room erupted with the cheers of the gems, meanwhile eye leaned back and whispered to Forehead "It hasn't even been two minutes and he's already actin' like a peridot." They both quietly snickered, before their laughter died out and was replaced by a silent respect for the child who had done so much in his short life.
He cackled madly, scooping up the various limb enhancers and turning to Peridot.
"So how do I put these on?!" He asked, a smile still present on his face.
"PERRY, COME BACK HERE- I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S PROPERLY CALIBRATED!" Peridot screamed, chasing after the once small child who was now running through the hallways of Pink Diamond's zoo, giggling maniacally. Followed closely behind Peridot were Square and Prime, who were also being followed by most of the amethysts.
"This is AMAZING!" He turned around, noticing Peridot attempting to grasp his shoulder "Whoa-AAAAH!" He slammed into the ground, the large group following him all coming to a stop as they stared at his limp body, he groaned as he slowly pushed himself back to his… Feet? His limb enhancers, as he wobbled slightly, his knees slapping together as he finally regained his balance. "This feels so- STRANGE!" He snickered, flexing his floating fingers on his new "hands". He now stood at a height slightly shorter than the amethysts, but was almost identically sized in regards to the three peridots standing around him.
"So doesn't it feel AMAZING?" Square spoke, grasping Perry by his shoulders as she gently pushed him towards Prime.
"Being tall is the best, I-I can see all of your faces perfectly now!" He grinned, looking around "Dude, I almost thought you were Peridot!" Righty snickered, spinning Perry around as he stumbled to regain his balance.
"Huh, these limb enhancers are hers aren't they?" He looked back to Peridot, who nodded in response.
"Awesome, so they have all my modifications!" He turned to Prime, waiting for her to say something.
Prime barely had to look down to see Perry anymore, he was only about half a head shorter than her with his enhancers, and at the rate he was growing he'd probably be taller than her soon… His jumpsuit hung loosely to his lower body, while it acted more as a shirt around his torso. This was most likely due to the proportions of Perry, and prime briefly caught herself wondering if it would fit more easily if he was born a woman? No, that would be far too much to ask. The male for some reason was the smartest of his species, and she doubted any of the humans left on earth had advanced beyond throwing wooden spears at each other. She smiled at Perry.
"So Perry, how are you liking your new enhancers? I see you've taken to them rather quickly." She placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling.
"THEY'RE AMAZING, B-But… Argh, it's so hard to control these freakin' fingers, it's like I can only control them individually." He groaned, watching what he presumed to be his index finger slowly float up, and then bend.
"Well it seems as if you're doing well enough as it is, however perhaps asking someone else with more… Experience with limb enhancers would be a good idea?" She called Peridot towards her, who was still rather taken aback that the once tiny child was now almost as tall as she was.
"Hrmm… Despite my concerns about your limb enhancers calibration, I seem to have done an excellent job- And you look great, as any peridot would in their limb enhancers." She smugly proclaimed, patting Perry on his back.
"But what about my fingers Peridot, I can't freakin' control them properly!" He slowly bent another one of his fingers, as one of them began floating away. He abruptly reached out with his left hand and caught it, all five of his floating fingers grasping it.
"Hey- What the…" Perry couldn't finish his sentence, baffled as he stared at his fingers that he had somehow willed to move on their own. Peridot snickered, turning off her gravity laser.
"It's all about what you want them to do subconsciously Perry, it's almost like using those pathetic meaty-graspers you once called hands!" Both Peridot and Perry burst into laughter, while Carnelian poked Perry's thigh .
"Huh, what's wrong?" Perry looked down, realizing just how small Carnelian really was compared to the other gems "Whoa- You're… Tiny!" He snickered, squatting down to get a better look at her. These enhancers felt right, like they were a part of him, like they were ALWAYS meant to be a part of him. As he grew lost in his thoughts, a voice brought him back to reality.
"I may be tiny, but I can still do this!" Carnelian cackled as she grabbed a hold of both of Perry's legs, and tossed him into the crowd of amethysts who were currently waiting to begin chasing Perry once again. This of course resulted in almost all the amethysts catching a hold of Perry, allowing him to crowd-surf over the small group as he laughed madly. He raised both of his arms straight into the air, still giggling as he spoke.
"THIS IS THE BEST CREATION-DAY EVER, AND I'VE ONLY EVER HAD ONE!" He continued to laugh, as the group of amethysts made various remarks and banter with one another, slowly carrying him down the hallway. Prime sighed, smiling as she watched the "Honorary Peridot" Get carried away.
"Is there anything that pesky human can't do?" She spoke aloud, a small smile present on her face.
"Looovin' you is easy 'cause it's easy too…" A slow, sad- Rather melancholic song drifted through the human zoo's enclosure. The source of said song could be narrowed down to a teenager, no older than fifteen lying face down in the soft, green grass. His Worn limb enhancers were unmoving, other than a small glowing light emanating from his right arm that appeared to be displaying a small holographic image of a bar slowly filling as the song dragged on. The teenager had a mop of messy brown hair that extended down to his shoulders, he lacked any facial hair, and his skin was a sickly pale white. His appearance was rather androgynous, although this could be chalked up to the limb enhancers he was wearing. His old green jumpsuit still clung loosely to his body, as he let out a long sigh. The bar was finally full, as the somber song came to a close. "Play it again." He muttered into the grass. His limb enhancers obliged, as the holographic image abruptly disappeared, before reappearing again.
"La-la-la-la-" Before the song could continue, a feminine voice cut through the depressive aura that surrounded him.
"Uh- Stop playing!"
"H-Huh?" He slowly rolled over, revealing his bloodshot eyes. In Front of him stood P-14… Staring down at him, her head tilted… Just like all those years ago. He groaned, his floating fingers grasping onto his face in some vain attempt to hide from the current reality he was facing.
"Perry…?" She mumbled. His fingers slowly dragged down his face, a habit he knew he had picked up from spending far too much time around Peridot during his formative years. He sighed, balancing himself with both of his hands as his fingers dug into the soft ground, staring up at the young woman who stood before him. Even with his limb enhancers, he was still just barely taller than her. He wondered if this had something to do with almost never taking them off in the past five years.
"What is it?" He muttered, his floating fingers somehow supporting his metallic arms, while his legs were sprawled out haphazardly in front of him.
"I-I'm sorry about last night, but we can still be friends, can't we? Even if I was chosen!" She smiled proudly, leaning in for a hug. But it felt wrong, nothing like that hug they shared all those years ago, just… Wrong… He stared at her back, and wondered what went wrong. Why he had confessed how he liked her so much just before the "choosening" had started, why he thought the gems knew about his strange feelings he had for her. It didn't matter now, anyway. He let her hug him, mostly out of the longing for the pity he once so eagerly rejected. He felt broken, and honestly? He wasn't seeing the pros of being human anymore outside of the strange signals he rarely intercepted that contained human-created songs, such as the one he had recently been listening to.
"What YOU DOING TO HER, WEIRD GEM-BOY!" He suddenly perked up, attempting to scramble out of her grasp with his pitiful strength, still as skinny as a peridot. He felt a fist connect with his jaw, as his head was sent flying away from the P-14, the rest of his body shortly following as his back slammed into the ground. He felt sick, disorientated. What was this feeling, this absolute gem-crushing feeling inside of him? Everything was spinning, he felt like he was going to puke, but he slowly raised his head, pushing himself back up to a sitting position as he stared up at the MAN standing before him, P-14's partner. P-07.
"HAH! YOU EVEN MAN, WEIRD GEM BOY?!" P-07 felt his fists shaking, rage was flowing through him. He had never felt such anger before, but this teenager was old enough to know not to- Not to what? Why did he feel so angry when he saw the weird gem person hug his partner? He didn't know, he just knew he had to follow these feelings.
"YOU NO EVEN WEAR EARRING LIKE REST OF US, YOU EVEN HUMAN, HUH? YOU EVEN MAN?!" He cackled, as he watched Perry's emotionless expression falter, tears began to drip down Perry's face. Sympathy began to well up inside of P-07, but it was quickly pushed back down by instinct, by anger.
"YOU KNOW WHY SHE SAY NO?!" P-14 looked as if she was on the verge of tears, as she began tugging on P-07's loincloth.
"P-Please stop…" She hoarsely whispered, but to no avail.
"Because SHE SAID YOU LOOKED LIKE WOMAN, LIKE WEIRD GEM-WOMAN, THEY EVEN WOMEN? SHE SEE YOU AS NOTHING BUT WOMAN!" He began to snicker, this feeling blossomed into a powerful, incredible string of emotions that burst inside of him, like nothing he had ever felt before. It was glorious, and he had to finish the job, to complete what he had started. He began to open his mouth to finish this barrage with one final strike to completely shatter his rivals will.
Perry was violently shaking, as tears flowed down his face. It all fits into place, like the final line of code, like an end of a poem written by a sapphire, or… Or… Or… He couldn't think straight, or maybe he should be saying /SHE/ COULDN'T THINK STRAIGHT!? HOW COULD HE BE SO BLIND?! She just saw him as another friend, another GIRL all these years. Was it his hair, the way he looked? He certainly didn't act "girly", did he? Did he need to start cutting his hair? What-Why-Why… Why did it hurt so much to be called something he wasn't? Why did he longingly gaze at P-07, wondering what it would be like to be him rather than… Himself, to be a REAL MAN! He clawed at the ground with his floating fingers, as he coughed back a whimper.
"Are YOU even HUMAN?!" P-07 finished, finally feeling satisfied as the strange feeling that had welled up inside of him slowly began to dissipate.
"I-I…" Perry stood back up, staring at P-07. Contempt, rage… Fear, and sadness… All boiled into a broth of emotions, as something in his mind snapped. He was tired of all this, of wanting to be P-07, of all these emotions, all these ILLOGICAL things inside of his mind
"MAYBE I DON'T WANT TO BE HUMAN ANYMORE?! YOU ILLOGICAL DUMB, STUPID ANIMALS MAKE NO SENSE, AND I'D RATHER BE A GEM THAN YOU!" Perry spat out, his words dripping with malice. He began extending his right arm as he stood up, pointing it directly at P-07. His fingers quickly re-assembled into a triangle-like shape, three of his fingers appeared to hold an invisible object before a green ball rapidly formed in the once empty space between them.
Before P-07 could do anything, a green beam shot towards him, surrounding his body in a sickly green glow. He tried to move, but he couldn't. He kept on trying, he still couldn't. He began to panic, this was a bad idea, this was a terrible idea, he slowly began to rise into the air, while Perry began to laugh maniacally.
"For my FIRST act as a gem, why don't I put some overconfident dumb ANIMAL in their PLACE?!" A malicious smile spread across his face as P-07 was slowly raised into the air, only to be frozen in place once again as a sobbing P-14 fell to Perry's feet, whimpering something ever so softly.
"P-Please… Stop…" She sobbed into her shoulder, as Perry suddenly lost focus on his gravity beam, P-07 fell to the ground with a grunt, landing firmly on his bottom. He immediately scrambled to his feet, and began to run away. Perry simply stood there, staring at P-14- No, THE HUMAN who lay sobbing before him. He turned around, and ran away, towards the hidden entrance into the zoo as he began to hyperventilate.
Authors Notes:
Yo so thanks for reading if anyone's even made it this far, this is my second time writing a long story like this and I'd love to hear what you thought of it, any criticism is good criticism.
If I ever write another chapter, there'll be no more time-skips, instead picking up from where I previously left off