Hard Light Blues

by Selver

Pink Zircon is just another cog in the Gempire, taking Era 2 day by day. All she wants is to be promoted, but getting there might be tricky when she's assigned to defend a Homeworld Pearl.

Zircon looked out over her flickering paradise and smiled. Twin suns setting on the horizon, and a beach wrapped in luminous, rose-colored waves. She'd be defending palm trees, coconuts, maybe a territorial crab or two.

"Isn't it lovely?" A petite gem stood by, speaking without looking up from her nails. "Something about new colonies, hm? The potential. And it's one of the cushiest postings in all the cosmos."

She swallowed and looked down. "Aquamarine— this move means everything, really. You'll have my gem on a bracelet until I'm shards."

"Naturally." The two of them stood next to a coffin-shaped superstructure in Facet Five, only a few steps from the nearest Warp Pad. It was an upper crust neighborhood to be sure, mainly dignitaries and palace-types rushing around strategizing between missions. Aquamarine bent down and snatched the projection gem from the ground. It's glow faded, then disappeared, along with the tropical hologram all around them. "I just need to know that I'll have your counsel — off the record, of course, available at all times."

Zircon nodded. "Does that include… I mean, if you call during a trial—"

"Or you'll get the position when your name comes up. That's really fairer for everyone, you'd agree?"

"Look… fine. Okay."

Aquamarine stroked her hair bow. "Just do well on your next few missions, and I'll petition the Diamonds for your advancement." Aquamarine's gem was on her nose, which Zircon thought was pretty unfortunate for an elite. She bowed, biting the inside of her lip so she wouldn't laugh.

"That would be fantastic, thank you. You have nothing to worry about, your clarity."

Her superior straightened up to her full height, coming up just a little above Zircon's knees. "How's Rutile, 9-FJ?"

Zircon coughed, running her fingers through her quaffed hair as she thought up words. "Well, you know, she was a very... specific case. What happened with that, was—" Her Monocle lit up, flashing a message generated to look like White Diamond's flawless script: "Hurry up now! Your next trial's about to start — please report to the Basilica, now!" She reached down to her navel, rubbing her gem so its pink facets reflected flashes of gloaming light. "I've, uh… gotta get going. Thanks, again… could I talk to you later about Rutile?"

Aquamarine sprouted wings and leapt into the air, splashing Zircon in the face as she did so. "We'll be in touch." With that, she sailed up several stories and dove through a window. Scowling, Zircon turned and climbed the steps leading up to the Warp Pad.

As Zircon's foot made contact with the dais, she felt the cold rush of her whole body dissolving instantly into particles. The light sang, sending her hundreds of miles across the bustling supercity of Homeworld as one of a billion shooting stars. The arc connected with a platform on the other side of the world, bringing her flight to a close in a matter of seconds. While materializing she smoothed her pompadour into something that would stay manageable for at least the next twenty to thirty minutes, or so she hoped.

She hopped off the Warp Pad and towards the Basilica, an immense construct that Zircon, if she was ever asked, would say looked like a black balloon tied to the tip of a silver rosebud. Basalt and silica set the courthouse apart from the other buildings in Facet Nine: cathedrals of bronze and topaz, gold reliquaries, hundreds of spires engraved with glyphs. She imagined if someone snapped the column connecting the two sections of the Basilica in half, the trial room would just drift away with whichever gems happened to be inside. She smiled, thinking that no one would be able to bring them down.

An unfamiliar Peridot stopped her before the stairs. "Excuse me! Are you assigned here? Can you please tell me how long it'll be before we start?"

"Good afternoon!" Service with a smile was expected of all Zircons, even when addressing a gem of a lower class. "We appreciate your patience! There's a gallery inside for observing gems, would you—"

Peridot snorted. "I don't think so. They told me to come give testimony for the Pearl trial, which I assumed would be done by now. If you could get to my part as efficiently as possible, I would appreciate it."

Zircon stopped walking and faced her, "You're the eyewitness?"

"That's correct. I saw her far away from the crime scene, cleaning, at the time the attack took place."

"You'll go on record with that? And you got a good look at her, right — you're certain?"

Peridot began to massage her temples. "Obviously, or I wouldn't be here. I don't have time for this, I have an off-planet appointment at The Reef that I will not be late for."

Zircon rushed past her up the steps. "I'll try not to waste too much of your time. Make sure you mention that she was cleaning when you saw her, the elites love that stuff."

The trial chamber was void, lit only by white triangles on the floor marking the place to stand. Zircon studied her screen, while Honey Zircon — the Facet's resident prosecutor — stood off to the side, warming up. Honey paused, acknowledging her counterpart with a nod.

"Rough day? You came in looking a little cloudy."

Zircon collapsed the screen into her Monocle and straightened. "Don't worry about me, Hon. I've been defending misfit Pearls since before you emerged."

A Topaz fusion with gems on her left and right biceps plodded into the room, the accused Pearl lodged in her midsection like a javelin. Once she reached the bailiff's podium, she unfused, allowing the court to finally get a look at Pearl. She sat on her knees. Her nose pointed towards a peach-pink gem over her sternum. Her eyes hid behind apricot-colored hair, which stuck out in places like a deranged animal brought to heel.

The Topaz on the left raised her hand and the court fell silent. "All rise for her grand clarity: the brilliant, the lustrous — Emerald."

A column of light descended into the chamber, and a gem appeared in thigh-high boots and polygonal shoulder pads. Emerald towered over the court on a throne as green as she was, but barely looked up from her screen as she waved a hand at the two Zircons.

"Alright. Let's get this over with."

Honey saluted her and turned. "Pearl in service to Morganite 1F9 Cut-7EX, you are charged with assaulting and destroying the physical form of Sapphire 2F9 Cut-8RB. How do you plead?"

Zircon stepped forward, "My client pleads not guilty."

Honey nodded. "In your own words, tell the court what happened the night Sapphire lost her form."

A moment of silence, then the defendant raised her head. Pearl's bangs fell away as she stared listlessly at the prosecution.

"...I was fetching a Warp Whistle for my Morganite… She said that she needed one for a mission. I was in the garden when I found Sapphire's gem, on the grass. The guards rushed in… they thought I did it, but I would never… I would never think to—" Pearl's voice trembled and she cut herself off. The court did not seem particularly moved.

"Sapphire is known to take, on a good day, about two hours to reform. And yet, somehow — three weeks after the incident in question — she still has not regenerated her form. She is this Facet's only Sapphire, prized even among her cut for her far-reaching and detailed visions. What sort of monster would dematerialize this precious stone, this treasure?"

Pearl appeared to be at a loss, so the prosecution continued, "If it pleases your clarity, I would like to present — Exhibit A." Honey pulled a transparent orb from her gem. "Pearl, give the court a description of this object."

Pearl looked to her attorney, who shot her a nod. "It's a crystal ball, used by Sapphires to focus their future vision. It's made of ice, and can be manipulated by Sapphires into whatever shape—"

"That will be all. Now, Sapphire was in possession of a ball like this. Did you know that, Pearl?"

The accused nodded. "My Morganite often accompanied Sapphire off-planet, and it was my duty to carry the things they needed."

"It must've been thrilling to hold a thing so valuable. You could have stolen it, bribed a Nephrite to carry you off-planet… if only the owner would disappear."

Pearl blushed and turned away.

"Objection! This crystal ball's location is unknown — for all we know, Sapphire will pull it out of her gem the moment that she regenerates."

Emerald tutted. "So? She knew it existed, that's motive enough."

Honey's smirk was sharp enough to cut her another facet. "When Morganite sent Pearl away on an errand, she made up her mind this was the time to do it. She went to the garden where Sapphire was foretelling. She drew a destabilizer from her gem, and then-"

With an expression of distressed seriousness, Honey threw her head back and brought the back of her hand against her forehead.

"-dissipated her superior's form! Your clarity, this Pearl is a menace. If you won't shatter her for Sapphire, then shatter her for all the elites who might suffer from her example. History shows us: seditious, violent gems are discouraged only through retribution! The prosecution rests, your clarity."

Emerald looked satisfied with this conclusion. "Thank you, counselor. The defense?"

Fortunately, Zircon had prepared a rebuttal for Honey's argument during the fifty-eight seconds it took her to make it. "Your clarity, the prosecution's case is unclear, flawed, and dull. The fact Sapphire hasn't reformed suggests she was damaged by a supremely powerful foe. Does this—" Zircon gestured towards the accused, "—look like a gem capable of a fight like that? Pearl, tell the court what your service to the empire demands of you."

Pearl coughed. "I, um… live with my Morganite in the Jewelbox Palace… I store and clean her possessions, and I attend to her on missions."

Zircon discreetly motioned to Pearl, miming as if she was pulling something from her chest.

"Oh! And, um..." Her gem lit up, and Pearl withdrew a thin pink-and-peach striped baton from her sternum. "I entertain, as well." She held it poised in the air, seemingly unsure whether the court expected her to start twirling.

Zircon picked up the slack. "This is a gem totally incapable of assault, let alone an assassination. It is simply not in the nature of Pearls to fight."

Emerald shifted in her throne. "Hhm. And how do you account for the guards finding her with the victim's gem?"

Zircon smiled. "Simply a matter of wrong place, wrong time, your radiance. Gemetic analysis reveals Sapphire was defeated fifteen minutes before they found her. As it happens, we have an eyewitness who can place Pearl inside the palace during that window. The defense calls to the stand… Peridot!"

With her finger aimed dramatically at the witness stand, Zircon's gem skipped a beat as one, two, three seconds passed with nothing to fill the absence of Peridot materializing on the witness stand.

Emerald sniffed. "In future, Zircon, I suggest you find witnesses confident enough in their testimony to show up."

"...Yes, your clarity." A flake. Zircon could hear Honey's snickers over the clicks of Emerald typing away on her screen.

For the first time today, Zircon looked over her shoulder into the gallery. There in the back, she could make out a broad-shouldered gem standing stock-still, angled as if staring directly at her. It was dark, but Zircon thought her color might be orange, or maybe pink.

She snapped back into focus. Positioning her hands into the most precise Diamond salute she could muster, Zircon spoke:

"Your clarity, to shatter this gem would be to act on incomplete evidence. There has been no analysis of the crime scene, no reenactment of the attack; if Pearl is innocent, then the true culprit is still at large and likely making arrangements to flee Homeworld." She took a few steps towards the throne. "Rejuvenation and reassignment are all that's needed here."

Emerald sighed. "A false conviction would be unfortunate. The Diamonds are… disturbed, that such a fate should befall a gem of Sapphire's rank. I will allow a brief recess — if exonerating evidence cannot be produced by nightfall, then my verdict will be shattering." At this last word Pearl looked down again and her baton fizzled away into light.

Zircon bowed. "Thank you. Also, the defense would argue that Sapphire's present condition is an extenuating—"

"Don't push your luck." With that, Emerald pulled a gavel out of her gem, and pounded twice on the armrest of her throne.

"Court adjourned."

"Only forty minutes to go! Please return to the Basilica at least ten minutes before-"

Zircon tapped her Monocle, blocking its messages to go over all the ways she had screwed up. She should've made Peridot wait inside. She could've stopped Pearl from testifying, from falling apart like that in front of the court. If she'd been sharp, she would've pointed out how a Pearl bribing her way off-planet was ludicrous. There wasn't a gem in the world who'd help her, and Pearl knew that.

The Jewelbox Palace Gardens, accessible conveniently by Warp, felt like a foreign planet in Facet Nine. A hedge maze dotted with lavender and hibiscus carved the garden into a chest-high network of vines and shrubs. A tower stood in the courtyard's center, buttressed on all sides by the covered bridges connecting it to the palace's upper floors. An idyllic spot for a sneak attack, to be sure.

When she arrived, a swarm of robonoids were already scanning the area inch by inch. A handful of Rubies milled around, trying to look official. She went up to one fiddling with a carnation.

"Hey!" Ruby jumped with surprise, turning an even deeper red. "Sorry, but I'm here on official business. Can you tell me, are guards usually posted at every gate like this?"

"That-that's right, the Jewelbox Palace is the Diamonds' number-one priority in this Facet. No gem goes in or out of the gardens without permission."

"I see. And what about that night? Was anyone seen?"

Ruby scrunched up her nose, clearly expending a lot of mental energy to recall. "Um… No, no I don't think so. The garden was supposed to be empty, we didn't see nothin' before we found that Pearl standing over our Sapphire."

Suddenly, Zircon noticed a tall figure emerge from behind a topiary. It was Morganite, Pearl's owner, whom she now recognized as the mysterious spectator from the trial. Surrounded on all sides by Rubies, she carried herself like someone who felt the world should be less lovely out of respect for her misfortune.

Zircon thanked the soldier and spun around. Her gem in her throat, she moved nearer to the distinguished gem. No sooner had she taken a step, than two guards jumped forward and landed square in front of her, hands on hips.

"Halt, citizen! We cannot allow you to come closer to our Morganite!"

"Yeah. Back it up, ya' nerd!"

Without moving another inch, Zircon bowed. "I didn't mean to offend, your sparkliness. I only—"

Morganite raised her hand, quieting all. "My Pearl's attorney. I can't thank you enough, truly." The lower half of her form resembled a billowing gown, which complemented a crown braid of pale dogwood hair. "I just came from Sapphire's chambers… she's comfortable, at least. We're keeping her in a Cradle with subsonic facet massagers and heated inlays. If… that is, when she reforms, you'll be the first to know."

"If I may ask — do you think Pearl might actually be responsible?"

Morganite looked down. "She's been with me for millennia. I believe her."

Zircon nodded. "If we could only track down this absent witness… Well, we'd have much more of a case to work with."

Morganite raised an eyebrow. "And? Why is that so difficult?"

"When we spoke, she said she'd be at The Reef. Zircons aren't authorized for Galaxy Warp use, your clarity."

Without saying a word, Morganite pulled a slim, blue flute out of her gem. "Here… take my Warp Whistle. It's the only one I own, but if it could help prove Pearl's innocence…"

Zircon bowed as she took it. "I will repay your generosity with success, your radiance."

Morganite looked doubtful. "Yes… be sure you do."

Zircon never enjoyed The Reef, the few times she had gone before. The glamor, the crowds, the general feeling that the elites judged you from all angles. A White colony in a nutshell. Chrysocollas and Jades filled the Warp room, following fluorescent paths to The Reef's various boutiques, lapidaries, and spas. Some cringed when they saw her, each afraid she had come to tear them from lives of unending privilege — to her relief, Zircon found the corridor she wanted and briskly followed the trail of lights.

She passed by Garnets gawking at the displays, their Pearls padding behind them on dainty feet. They held combs, masks, fans with precious stones set in the monture, so much junk the elites used to outdo and gain favor with one another. Zircon pushed her way through the crowd, scanning faces. After a few minutes she spotted Peridot, bent over a turntable which showcased a wide variety of bedazzled wands. Kneeling down on a limb enhancer, she looked up to meet Zircon's eyes as she drew closer.

Zircon stood with her hands behind her back. "Hope I'm not disturbing you."

Peridot started rifling through her toolbox. "Obviously, you are. Can I help you?"

"You really could have. In fact, you made a commitment to help me and Sapphire in court today. Why didn't you?"

"I told you I was busy. This work order comes straight from admin." She punctuated every third word with an emphatic wrench twist. "You should really be more on top of your schedule."

"And Pearl? Shattered because you couldn't wait five minutes?"

Peridot snorted. "Yeah, yeah. As if you'd give a shard if she wasn't assigned to you."

Zircon was losing patience for this. "What are you talking about? You were going to testify on her behalf, you know for a fact that she didn't do it."

"Doesn't matter. Her performance would likely decline anyway due to trauma. Better to just get rid of her."

Zircon straightened herself to her full six-foot three-and-a-half inches. "How… how can you possibly justify that? Even if she's a Pearl, we're talking about a life here."

Peridot stood so she was eye-level with Zircon. "Look around you, pebble. Demand for Pearls is skyrocketing, and it's The Reef's job to meet that demand." Now, Peridot turned her nose up and lectured at Zircon with eyes closed. "There's a resource shortage on, in case you haven't heard. Older Pearls contain ten times more juice than those produced with the newer methods. They should be shattered and recycled, certainly not kept in service. It's easy to sit around and clutch Pearls about how shattering isn't right when you're not the one stuck with the problem gem."

For a moment, each of them just glared. Then, Zircon took a deep breath. She adjusted her Monocle.

"Resources are scarce because of Pink. She's gone, so everyone suffers, and Pearls don't matter so long as we have enough of them. Except, you're forgetting that this Pearl was made for a member of Pink's court. She served in Era One, and is part of her living legacy — Pink Diamond's legacy."

A dark green blush set in around Peridot's cheeks. "Aw, jeez… I didn't mean— I have a lot of respect for her, you know. I hadn't emerged yet, when it happened, but I can't imagine what I would do if…" she trailed off, nervously templing the fingers of her limb enhancers. "Look, I'm sure you've been through a lot. Let me tell you what I saw."

Zircon might've felt guilty about playing the Diamond Card if it wasn't ten minutes before nightfall. She summoned a log screen from her Monocle and hit record. "When you're ready."

Peridot shut her eyes and spoke carefully. "I was in the palace, fixing a communicator. It was definitely Morganite's chambers, I remember because of that awful smell. I saw the door open and someone, a Pearl I'm sure, came in to tidy up." Peridot opened her eyes. "So, she was inside the palace when the true culprit was sneaking up on Sapphire. Check when the communicator came back online — if the timelines match up, your client is in the clear."

"How can you be certain the individual you saw was Pearl?"

"I saw her gem, obviously. Her back was to me and I could see it quite clearly." She snorted, a mannerism Zircon found increasingly annoying. "Also, she was cleaning."

Zircon stopped recording and collapsed the screen. "Well… thanks."

"I hope you found what you were looking for." Peridot barely waited for a response before turning back to the turntable.

"Yes, I believe I did." She began walking back towards the lobby. "I'd thank you, but you just made my job much, much harder."

Zircon marched through the Basilica's empty halls until she came to the holding area for accused gems. She punched an entry code on the wall, and a hatch slid open to reveal a dimly lit cell with exactly one occupant curled up in the center of the room. The door slid closed again as she walked in, merging seamlessly with the wall.

"You know what the hardest part of my job is?"

Pearl looked up, and she could see her eyes were red. "I-I'm sorry?"

"It's when I'm forced to argue the innocence of an off-color."

Pearl scowled. Zircon was unfazed. "You lied at the trial. You didn't just stumble onto Sapphire's gem like you said, or the guards would've seen you when you came in."

Pearl looked away. "Whatever."

"And it wasn't you Peridot saw in the palace, was it? Your gem is on your chest — rather difficult to see when your back is turned, yet Peridot swears she saw you from behind. You're lucky you Pearls all look the same to us, or you'd be as good as shattered."

"I never asked her to vouch for me." Her voice was trembling.

"You're a traitor, but if you won't confess for your own sake, do it for Sapphire's. Think of her: trapped like that, unable to reform… Do you know what it feels like-"

Pearl suddenly shot to her feet, "You have no idea what you're talking about. You don't know anything about Sapphire — you've never even met her!" She was getting worked up, her cheeks flushed and looking like she might burst into tears again. "If you really wanted to help me, you'd… stars, you would take me to her! You'd take me to Sapphire!"

Zircon took a step back. "Beg pardon?"

Pearl bit her lip. "I… I can help her regenerate. I know how to bring her out."

Zircon felt a twinge of pity; it always disturbed her hearing the lies of desperate gems. "Really? And how's that?"

Before she could answer, Zircon felt her Monocle buzzing against her face. "Um… I need to take this." She opened the door and slipped out into the hall.

She tapped to accept the call. "Hello?"

"Zircon? It's Aquamarine. I just wanted to call and say, very sorry, but the promotion is going elsewhere."

"I thought you said… You said as long as I kept-"

"Yeah, yeah, no. Sorry. Jargon Zircon in 3B got the position, you know how it is. Just be sure to win your next few cases, and hopefully in a month or two-"

Zircon was blindsided by a peachy blur. Pearl had sprinted out of the open door, and was now windmilling wildly down the hall.

"Zircon? Hello? What's going-"

She hung up and took off after the fugitive.

"Hold on — stop!" Zircon bounded after her, easily outpacing the gem's spindly legs until she was almost on her. Throwing herself forward, Zircon toppled into Pearl's midsection, sending them both flying down the corridor in a flurry of tangled limbs.

She had Pearl pinned, barely countering her surprising strength. "Just— Good heavens, just calm down! I am trying to help you!"

Pearl was hysterical. "Liar! Liar! You're the one keeping her trapped, if you shatter me she'll never reform, never ever!"

Zircon was starting to lose it too. "Shut up! You're talking nonsense, how in a million years could you ever make Sapphire reform?!"

Pearl took a deep breath. Then another. She stifled a sob, and looked seriously into Zircon's eyes. "Because I'm the only one she'll fuse with."

"The trial is starting! Please report to the Basilica now! Please report to the Basilica-"

Zircon hit ignore on her Monocle. For the first time in eight thousand years she was failing to heed its call — but, if Pearl was right, it wasn't going to matter.

The two gems crept through the halls of the Jewelbox Palace, its high ceilings a glittering mosaic of shards. Pearl led the way, with Zircon following close behind. After a time, she tapped her guide on the arm. "I think we've already crossed this threshold. Are you sure it's this way?"

"I've lived here for millennia. Of course I know."

"Right. Sorry."

They walked on. She wondered whether the silence was out of awkwardness or for stealth, weighing her insecurity against the chance of them being apprehended and smashed on sight.

"So… you and Sapphire, huh?" she said, trying her best to whisper with empathy.

She was quiet a moment. "It… started a few months ago. Sometimes, when my Morganite was there, I would ask Sapphire about my future. Whether my Morganite would be successful, the newest fashions coming to Homeworld from the colonies. Idle things. But after a while, we'd simply… talk. We'd meet in the palace gardens, always hidden. Fusing was an accident, until it wasn't."

"And you have no idea how she lost her form?"

Pearl tensed up. "That's right. That day we were fused for about thirty minutes before we separated, then we talked for a bit. Without any warning, she doubled over and started weeping. She cried out, and when I looked down I saw her gem in the grass around my feet. The guards found us not long after, and, well… you know the rest."

Zircon grumbled. "Look, if you've been tumbling my rocks-"

Pearl didn't stop walking. "We're almost there. I'll bring her out of her gem, we'll unfuse, and you'll be promoted for reviving Facet Nine's star Sapphire. After that, I don't care what they do to me."

They turned the corner and came face to face with a trio of patrolling Rubies.

The Ruby at the head barked out, "Halt! What— What are you doing here!" They each struck their most fearsome pose, ready at any moment to leap into a formidable fusion.

Zircon stepped in front of Pearl. "At ease, soldiers. I'm escorting this prisoner to the courtyard for the reenactment."

"Reenactment?" Ruby looked behind her at her companions, neither of whom gave a whole lot back. "I didn't see anything like that in the palace diary."

"Typical. They should've dropped the scripts off days ago, you'll barely have time to learn them all."

"I… learn what all?"

"Your lines, of course."

Ruby's face dropped. Ruby started coughing violently, and Ruby looked about ready to dissipate her form. "Oh of course! In fact, we were just getting ready to rehearse! We, uh, we should probably get going. We've gotta go find those… script… guys. Hey Ruby, why didn't you tell me about this, huh?" The three of them sprinted down the hall, their squeaky voices echoing long after they'd disappeared from sight.

Pearl moved down the hall to a set of cobalt doors. "We're here." After a moment at the controls, the doors swung open with a gust of cold air.

Sapphire's chambers were decorated with more treasures than Zircon had ever seen collected in one place. Curtains wrapped around the perimeter of a blue marble rotunda, at the center of which sat an ornate gold Cradle. Inside, resting peacefully on a cushion, was Sapphire.

Pearl tiptoed across the room. "You may want to keep your distance… Sapphire doesn't know you, so it could take a second for our fusion to figure out what's happening."

Zircon stopped and considered what she was about to let happen. She had heard that in the heat of battle, Rubies could fuse with fallen gems to regenerate — but a Sapphire and a Pearl?

Zircon cleared her throat. "Pearl, have you considered, well… Sapphire might have done this on purpose. To fuse, both of you… I mean, she has to want—"

"I know."

Pearl exhaled. Her gemstone emitted a soft glow as she knelt and picked Sapphire up from her Cradle. She held her close — the gem didn't react. Pearl stood motionless for a moment, then gradually, started to sway gently back and forth. The swaying fell into a rhythm, and as Pearl turned slowly Zircon could see her eyes were shut and her lips were moving. She was whispering something into the gemstone pressed up against her chest. The stone didn't react.

Suddenly, Zircon heard sounds coming from the hall outside. Running to the door, she made out footsteps and the distinct bumbling of Rubies. She looked back to see Pearl still swaying with Sapphire in her arms.

She could hear voices now, getting closer. They were shouting.

"The Cradle is empty!"

"Our Sapphire has reformed!"

She took a step forward. "Pearl, we need to get out of here."

Without opening her eyes, Pearl smiled. She stopped turning, and laughed as if the gem in her hands had said something only she could hear. She traced her finger along the outline of one of her facets.

Zircon blinked. "Oh… oh my stars—"

A flash. Zircon tried to shield her eyes as light burst from Sapphire, and Pearl's physical form melted away to shapes. They shimmered and phased through one another, combining into a figure with at least four feet on Pearl's height and a sturdier build. The light softened, then congealed, and standing in front of her was a gem Zircon never thought could've existed: deep blue skin, stones over her chest and forehead, four arms, and a violet blouse that let out into a miniskirt.

The fusion opened its eyes. "Um… Hello."

Zircon felt the floor fall out from under her. She blinked. The fusion was still there.

"Who… what are you?"

The fusion blushed. "We, um… would it be alright if you called us Sodalite?"

Zircon was incredulous, but Sodalite looked downright terrified. Her four hands fidgeted with her dress and hair, a lavender crown braid with waves that fell to her waistline. Zircon realized Sapphire's gem was over her one eye. It fused with Pearl's anxious features to form a triangle of uncertain eyes.

The two might have kept gawping at each other for hours, but at that moment they heard a sound coming from outside the door. Sodalite shot her a look — wordlessly, she struck a tree pose as both of her gems lit up.

With one hand Sodalite withdrew Pearl's baton, with the other, Sapphire's crystal ball. In one fluid motion she affixed the orb to one end of the rod, the two instruments joined together as seamlessly as if they had never been apart. She brought this new tool, her Scepter, above her head, and she closed her eyes — light burst out of the crystal ball and spread like frost all through the room. Zircon looked madly around; there was only the one door, if she vaulted the window could she survive the fall? The doors swung open and five Rubies burst into the room.

This was it. Zircon closed her eyes and waited for the guards to fall on her.

"Whuh… Where is she?"
"It doesn't make sense… the screen said that the Cradle was empty!"

Zircon opened her eyes — Sodalite was gone. She looked down at herself — she was gone too. She could see the floor tiling through her invisible, shaking hands.

"It is empty!"

"She… she must be kidnapped!"

"Quick! Sound the alarm, we can't let anyone leave the palace!"

The guards stampeded out of the room. Zircon watched her limbs shimmer, then reappear. Sodalite reappeared too, a wry smile on blue lips.

"If I'm being honest, I'm kind of relieved it worked — this is the first time I tried it on two people."

Zircon was beginning to understand. "Sapphire didn't want any of this, did she?"

Sodalite looked away, her eyes drifting to a far-off place. "Pearl was afraid of what might happen. She asked Sapphire to predict whether there was a future for them together. She looked into it and… Well. She decided she would be better off in her gem. I suppose that was easier than telling Pearl."

"But — how? How could Sapphire want to fuse, how could Pearl risk shattering for a gem who she didn't serve?"

"Before I existed, many things seemed impossible. Now…"

Sodalite closed her eyes and held her Scepter up like a wand. The ball's shape became fluid, and warped until it had hollowed out into a ring. She brought it to her lips — the space inside the ring flickered, and a thick stream of light began pouring out into the room until — with a faint pop — it disconnected and took shape. A pale blue bubble the size of a Topaz was floating gently between Sodalite and Zircon.

Zircon smiled. "It's… a bubble wand?"

Sodalite let out a giggle. "This bubble will carry you to the Basilica — once in the air, you'll be invisible to everyone. It's how Pearl and Sapphire were able to sneak into the gardens undetected."

"What… what about you? What are you going to do?"

Her smile dropped. "Sapphire knew a life with Pearl wouldn't be easy. She thought she could ignore it, but now…" Sodalite touched Pearl's gem with her hand. "It wouldn't be fair. To Pearl."

Zircon swallowed. "You'll never survive. They'll break you apart, shatter Pearl — you know they will."

"They'll do that no matter what. Until then — at least I can be myself."

Zircon couldn't think straight. She went over every regulation and ordinance she'd known since the day she burst out of the ground, but not one helped her make sense of the last five minutes.

A strange calm fell over her. Maybe it was turning invisible for the first time, maybe it was the treason, but what was adamant this morning now seemed to be puffs of air. She felt like she was leaving her body, floating high up above the chamber, watching herself reach into her gem and pull out something striped and slender — from miles above, everything she was doing made sense. She watched her hands do something her mind never would have approved.

"Take it."

Now it was Sodalite's turn to look dumbfounded. "But… but that's—"

"Morganite's Warp Whistle. Get to the Warp, travel as far out into the universe as you can, then run." She pushed it into Sodalite's hands and held it there. "Don't ever stop running, and don't ever look back."

Sodalite closed her fingers around the instrument. Her face read more than gratitude — she looked unready to believe her eyes. "You… I don't know what I can say."

"Then don't. Those Rubies are bound to be back soon. Just… promise me you'll stay together. Protect each other, no matter what happens."

Sodalite nodded. "I need to destroy your form. If you're to survive, it should look like Pearl forced you to bring her here." Sodalite waved her hand; the bubble burst, and the Scepter immediately sprouted spikes.

Zircon felt the situation catch up to her like a tidal wave, her stomach tying itself in knots in real time. "Hang on, can we talk about this first? I haven't lost my form since I emerged!" That was a lie, it just took a lot of concentration to keep her appearance the way she liked it.

"This way, you can still have a future within the empire. Isn't that what you want?"

Before she could answer, steps echoed again from the hall outside. Sodalite lifted her Scepter, "We don't have time for this. Thank you. Thank you so, so much."

With that, she arced the morning star over her head and brought it down directly on top of Zircon. She felt her entire body explode in smoke as the world went dark around her.

Zircon reformed in cold, dimly lit confusion. Grabbing blindly, her hand made contact with one of the iron grips bolted onto the wall. She used it to hoist herself up into a standing position, bit by bit regaining the power to do so on her own.

She'd been dropped off at The Reformatory, a public regen site little more than a warehouse packed with unvarying stone cribs. A Topaz silently noted down the occasion of her rebirth, then moved on, leaving her alone and bleary-eyed. She staggered down the catwalk — could it have all been real? How long ago did it happen? She usually took four, no… five hours to reform. Seven if she'd just lost a case. Stars, the light was terrible in these places. This was all her fault, how could she have been a part of this?

The sunlight blinded her as she lurched outside; she had to shield her eyes and feel around with her free hand. As the world adjusted she could make out the shape of somebody walking towards her.

"You're back."

Zircon squinted. It was Morganite, without Pearl or Rubies, but with the strangest look in her eye like you couldn't be sure if she was impressed or scared.

"…Uhm. Your clarity-" She shakily tried saluting — Morganite blushed, and waved it away as if to say, 'no need.'

"Please, no need." She took a few steps closer to Zircon, who tensed up, unsure if she was allowed to leave. "Zircon, I know you did everything you could, and what happened… Well, what's done is done.."

"Well, that's right. What happened… back there." C'mon, focus. She could feel the light rush back to her head the longer she was outside her gem.

"No one could've predicted Pearl and Sapphire were rebels. Emerald says they have every ship in ten Facets out hunting them, but I doubt they'll get the jump on Sapphire. At least they're off-planet now… The two of them hurt so many gems during their escape. Like you…"

She placed her hand on Zircon's arm, who suddenly felt like she might start heaving. Morganite made a face. "Your form — you didn't change it when you regenerated."

Zircon looked down at herself. "Oh. Force of habit, I suppose."

"You mean, you've never changed it?"

Zircon shook her head.

Morganite smiled sadly. "That's nice. I regret my alterations, but after a while it was painful to keep looking like nothing changed." With her free hand, she began gently caressing her gem. "Now I feel guilty, like it proves I've forgotten her."

Oh stars. This was not a conversation Zircon wanted to have right here, right now. "I'm sure Pink would be proud of how far we've come."

Morganite let go of her arm and started towards the Warp. "If anyone has the right to say so, it's us. Pink's gems have something different in us, something we recognize in each other. We're a cut above the rest, don't let anyone tell you different."

"Um, right." Zircon remembered something. "Your clarity?"

She turned around. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry, but the Warp Whistle you lent me… I don't know how, but I lost it. When they attacked me, I guess."

It might've been Zircon's imagination, but she thought Morganite was suppressing a laugh. "Never mind that… What's one misplaced instrument to an empire? She turned before disappearing. "Of course… should you find it, I ask you return it to me in person. My chambers are in the Jewelbox Palace."

Morganite Warped off, leaving Zircon supporting herself against the wall. After a few moments, her Monocle started buzzing. She answered.

"Hello?"

"...Zircon? Is that you? It's Zircon, where in White's name have you been?!

"I died. Somebody killed me." She wasn't sure where this was supposed to go. "I think… is someone supposed to come pick me up?"

"Well, if you haven't heard, the victim and the accused have run off together. It's a mistrial, we're both losers."

"Yeah... I guess."

"What? The connection is awful. Get back here, before they replace you with three pebbles standing on top of each other's shoulders!"

Zircon ended the call. She looked out over the city spread in every direction far and wide. Miles above, a Roaming Eye punched through the aurora to exit atmos, her crew bound for adventure in other galaxies. She leaned over the balcony, and she cried, the stars of Homeworld vanishing in the dawn.