Chapter 11

"What?!" Rose replied uncontrollably, recoiling without meaning to. "You want me to come back to Homeworld?"

"Of course!" replied 1NX with a wide, enthusiastic grin. "I've been talking with some of the other Rose Quartz from Facet 31, and we think we've found a good place to regroup, but we didn't want to make a move before you were back."

"Make a move?" Rose replied with a confused expression. "What are you talking about? We disbanded Facet 31; there's nothing to 'make a move' about."

"Oh, please" 1NX scoffed, rolling her eyes. "We may have lost once, but that was never gonna put us down for good. As long as our Gems are still in one piece, we can always keep fighting. I've got dozens of Gems back on Homeworld who have been lying low, waiting for the day you gave the order. Don't tell me you've given up?"

Rose stood slack-jawed for a moment. There were members of Facet 31 who still intended to fight?! Despite how great she had known her comrades' anger to be, the news still came as a surprise. She had always assumed that she had been the one giving them the will to fight; that the organisation would evaporate without her. She chided herself for how arrogant that belief had evidently been. She didn't know whether to be proud of their dedication to the cause, or ashamed of their inability to see reason; something even she had been capable of despite all her anguish. Either way, it didn't change what her answer was going to be.

"No, 1NX; I didn't give up." Rose said with an air of irritation. "I changed my mind. There's a difference. I realised that I'd been fighting to take revenge on a person who didn't exist anymore, and that I'd been hurting the people around me in the process." Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes as she relived her mistakes, but she pressed on, knowing that her comrade needed to hear it. "I wasn't thinking clearly back then 1NX; none of us were. I mean for clod's sake…. I poofed Sapphire. She was more dedicated to me than anyone, and I poofed her for getting in the way of my revenge."

"Ah yes" 1NX replied flatly, the hint of a scowl creeping onto her face. "The Sapphire who was turned against us by a single conversation with a Crystal Gem; the Sapphire who was willing to throw everything we worked for away just so that she could have her happy ending. Why are you still dwelling on her? You can't seriously be telling me that you're letting some Sapphire steer you away from the goal we all put our Gems on the line for!"

Rose clenched her fists and stepped towards 1NX. The slightly smaller Quartz, despite her rage, took a slight step back, the tiniest flicker of fear in her eyes. "That's exactly what I'm saying!" Rose shouted, glaring at 1NX through white-hot eyes. "Our goal was suicidal! We were willing to go down in flames as long as we took Pink and the humans out with us; we weren't thinking! All Sapphire and Steven did was pull me back to reality! If you want to put your Gem on the Diamonds' anvil again, be my guest, but I will NOT risk hurting Sapphire again, and I will NOT let you harm Steven's planet!"

1NX looked for a moment as though she was about to erupt into another retort, but almost as soon as her rage had appeared, it died down. She let out a deep breath, and her muscles visibly relaxed. Rose might have calmed down at the sight, had she not noticed the smirk which still played across 1NX's face. "Oh 9DS…" 1NX chided, her earlier warmth utterly absent from her tone, "I had so hoped it wouldn't come to this." 1NX jumped back, coming to a stop against the rear wall of the control room, before reaching her arm into the bundle of large cables which fed the central power crystal. Despite the tension, Rose raised an eyebrow. "What are you-" The remainder of her sentence caught in her throat when 1NX forced the cables aside, and revealed what she had been reaching for. Sat amongst the cables, her arms and legs bound together by glowing cuffs, was Sapphire. The tensed fighting stance that Rose had instinctively slipped into gave way as her she let her arms fall to her sides in shock. "S-Sapphire?" The small blue Gem tried to reply, but her mouth was bound by small green cables. In an instant, the shocked was overcome by her anger, and the fury she had showed moments earlier reasserted itself. Turning back to 1NX, she practically growled her next question. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

1NX seemed awfully calm for someone staring down an angry Quartz soldier, her earlier nerves evaporating. Now that she had revealed that she held all the cards, she knew Rose wouldn't just charge at her. Deep down, Rose knew it too, but that didn't stop her from fixing 1NX with a stare that would chill even a Diamond to their core.

"Well…" 1NX finally crooned in reply, "I knew that this Sapphire was your weakness, so I picked her up on my way here, as a means of…insurance. We all saw how you broke down when you dissipated her on the human zoo; frankly it instilled some doubts in a few of our Gems, but I never doubted your abilities for a second. Your dedication maybe, but that's what I'm here to fix."

"What do you mean?" Rose asked through gritted teeth, her body trembling with a rage that she knew she had to hold back.

"I'll put it simply" 1NX said flatly as she summoned her blade from her gem and held it to Sapphire's throat. "If you want this Sapphire to live, you'll come back to Homeworld with me. This planet has poisoned your mind, but once you're back with us, you'll understand that this is all for your own good. Once that's happened, you can have her back."

Rose wanted to reply, but couldn't find the words. She simply couldn't believe what she was hearing. 1NX spoke as though the offer she was making was charitable; as though she couldn't see how twisted it was at all. Rose's eyes flitted to Sapphire. The fact that the soothsayer had a gem instead of an eye often meant that her face was difficult to read, but now, the panic in her expression was all too clear. Rose could see her quivering in 1NX's grip, a blanket of frost creeping out from under her dress. Rose nearly lost control of herself at the sight of it; she had hoped to never see Sapphire undergo trauma like that again.

"Why are you doing this?" Rose asked in a trembling voice. She had meant to sound threatening, but she knew she hadn't been able to disguise the hint of a pleading tone that had crept into her question. "Sapphire was part of Facet 31, just like us. Why would you hurt one of our own?"

1NX rolled her eyes. "The mission comes first. You used to know that better than any of us; or did you think that we weren't sacrificing before? You know that all those saboteurs we sent to disable the Diamonds' fleet were likely captured or worse, right?" Rose didn't have a reply for that. She wanted to give some sort of retort, but deep down she knew that, for once that day, 1NX was right. Her guilt over Sapphire had been so great that the fact that she had been using her followers from day one had completely escaped her. If anything though, this only made her more certain that she could never go back to the way she was before. "If you think bringing up my past mistakes is going to make me more inclined to want to do it all over again, you're not as good a tactician as I thought" she shot back at 1NX. Normally, such a remark would have been accompanied by a smirk, but in the face of Sapphire's captivity, she could muster only an intimidating scowl.

1NX seemed unmoved. "Those actions weren't mistakes!" the fanatical soldier shot back. "You were better back then; strong; cunning; fierce. You were a leader that we were all proud to really behind. Now you're willing to throw our entire purpose away just so you can continue your obsession with this Sapphire!"She gestured emphatically at Sapphire with her sword as she spoke. "If using this Sapphire is the only way to get you to come home and make you see sense, then it's worth it. I'd sacrifice any one of our Gems for that, and time was; you would have too!"

Rose stood with her fists clenched, her gaze never leaving 1NX and Sapphire. She had been hoping to bring 1NX around, but she could see now that such a thing was, if not impossible, at least beyond her abilities. If Steven were around, then it might have been possible, but even then she wouldn't have wanted to take the risk while Sapphire was still in 1NX's grasp. She wanted so desperately to run across the room, rip Sapphire from 1NX's grip, and drive her sword through the traitorous Quartz for making Sapphire suffer, but she knew she shouldn't. There was every possibility that she wouldn't be quick enough; that 1NX could harm Sapphire before she got close.

"Well 9DS?" 1NX asked impatiently. "What's your answer? Everyone back home is waiting for you."

Rose sighed, seeing no further chance to resist. Going back to her former allies was the last thing she wanted; if any of them found out about Sapphire's defect, the tiny Gem would be shattered for sure, former comrade or not. Rose had to believe that there was still a way out of this though. Perhaps if she went back to Homeworld, there would be another chance to free Sapphire; to contact the Diamonds somehow. While the thought of speaking to Homeworld's rulers again was unpalatable to her, Rose was willing to do anything to keep Sapphire safe. That all required staying in 1NX's good books until they made it to Homeworld though. Rose opened her mouth to concede to 1NX's request, but before she could speak, she was cut off by a sudden noise.

"Not so fast!"

Rose whirled round as she heard Garnet's booming voice behind her. The fusion charged through the entrance, closely followed by Steven, Amethyst, and Pearl. "Rose!" shouted Garnet, her gauntlets already summoned "we're here to help!"

"I don't think so!" 1NX shouted back with a malicious grin. Raising her arm, she tapped the screen of her small, green, wrist-mounted device; something that, until that moment, Rose had taken no notice of. The instant 1NX tapped the screen, a thick metal bulkhead slid from the ceiling, cutting the Crystal Gems off and leaving them trapped in the entryway. Garnet immediately swung at the barrier, but her gauntlet scarcely made a scratch; this facility had clearly been built with security in mind.

Rose turned to look back at 1NX, who was now wearing a triumphant smirk, and stroking Sapphire's hair in a way that made the small blue Gem whimper in fear. "How did you do that?" Rose asked in disbelief.

"Oh, the bulkhead trick?" asked 1NX nonchalantly. "I had one of Facet 31's old Peridots design this little baby for me." 1NX held up her forearm to brandish the device clasped onto it. "This thing should be able to hack into the systems of any facility that uses the same code as the ones back on Homeworld. As soon as I found out about this place, I suspected it would fit the bill, so I relocated here as soon as I got to Earth; made sure that this would be where we met. In here, I make the rules!"

The Crystal Gems continued to pound on the bulkhead to no avail. As they worked, Steven pressed himself against the transparent section of the barrier and began to shout. The sound was muffled, but still loud enough that all on the other side of the barrier could hear it. "Rose! You don't have to do what she says! There's always another option; you just need to look for it!"

The young hybrid's voice was reassuring, even given the dire nature of the situation. Having said that; Rose couldn't see any way of implementing his advice. What could she possibly do on her own that wouldn't endanger Sapphire? Sapphire… A revelation finally hit Rose; one that, in her panic, she had failed to consider. She wasn't alone. Sapphire was with her. As her eyes flitted back to the small blue Gem, Rose hoped that Sapphire was thinking the same thing she was. She knew that the two of them had been on uncertain terms since arriving on Earth, and that Sapphire's future vision would be useless, given her direct involvement in events. If enough of their connection remained that they could guess each other's intentions though, Rose knew that they could find a way out of this; together.


Author's Notes: Well, things are certainly coming to a head, aren't they? Unfortunately, you'll have to wait a while to find out what happens next. I'm going away on holiday
for a while and likely won't be able to write, so the next chapter won't be until the 22nd at the very earliest. That said, I'll still be on the site, so feel free to leave a
review telling me what you think of the story so far. I'll see you guys in the next chapter.