The room in which Twoie's meeting with Yellow Diamond was scheduled to take place was empty—not entirely empty of course, there was still a set of four large colorful thrones (presumably where the Diamonds were supposed to sit) and a even larger table in the center, but there was no sign of Yellow Diamond anywhere. Where could she possibly be? It wasn't like her to be late, especially to a meeting with a fellow Diamond. Punctuality was the mark of a great leader, at least that's what she had constantly reminded him every time he was even a second late to anything.
"Yellow?" he called, his voice echoing off the walls. "It's me, Pink Diamond."
He went silent as he waited for a reply. He half expected her to step out from one of the enormous pillars in the room. Maybe she was hiding, waiting for the right moment to show herself in an effort to make a grand entrance. It wouldn't be completely out of character for her to do so, but a part of him already knew that wasn't the case. Something wasn't right here, and his displeasure at having to leave Jasper behind only grew as minutes ticked by with still no sign of Yellow Diamond.
He briefly considered just leaving and heading back to his room, but he had made it this far and wouldn't allow himself to be discouraged by such a minor setback. That, and he was pretty sure the swarm of elite guards stationed outside the meeting room would have some objections with him leaving so soon. Yellow Pearl wasn't kidding when she told him that Yellow Diamond had increased security measures. The hallway leading to the room was packed with Rubies, Amethysts, Jaspers—heck, he'd even seen a couple of Aquamarines flying around.
He leapt onto the arm rest of the pink colored throne that was far too large for him and sighed. He hated waiting, but it looked like there was nothing else he could do.
Steven tried to hide between Lapis and Spinel who were boarding the ship, but was pulled back towards the beach by the back of his shirt. Lapis looked like she was going to help him, but Amethyst pushed her along into the ship. Spinel offered him a sympathetic smile before turning and following after the other two gems.
Steven was whipped around to face a serious Pearl. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot against the sand. "Steven, for the last time, you are not going to Homeworld."
"I am too," he insisted, meeting Pearl's intense gaze with one of his own. There was no way he was staying behind when he knew Twoie was in danger. If they went together they had a higher chance of succeeding. Unfortunately, the others didn't see it that way and were adamant about him staying behind.
Pearl frowned. "You are not."
"I am too!"
"You are not!"
"I am t—"
"Would you clods just make up your minds already!" Peridot shouted, kicking some sand up in the air. She juggled a small pile of tools in one hand and the timepiece in the other. "None of us are going to Homeworld if you keep arguing like this."
"Peridot's right," Garnet said. "Time is a resource we can't afford to be wasting right now."
"Then let's go already." Steven started to walk towards the green handship, tightening the straps of his cheeseburger backpack as he did so.
Garnet stepped in his path. "Steven," she said. "I know you want to help, but this is far too dangerous for you.
"I can protect myself just fine," he said. "Twoie needs our help and I'm not stay—"
"Steven," Garnet pleaded. She bent down so that she was at eye level with him and removed her visor, her three eyes were swirling with worry. "I know you've come a long way with mastering your powers and I'm proud of you—we all are, but the Diamonds are like nothing we've ever faced before. Please, for your own safety, stay on earth."
Steven's gaze fell to the sand beneath his flip flops. What was he supposed to say to that?
Pearl bent down to give him a hug. "Don't worry, we'll bring him back."
Steven silently returned the embrace. He wanted to beg to go, demand to be let on the mission, but one glance at their determined faces was all it took to make him realize that they would not be changing their minds.
"Be careful," he told them.
Pearl nodded and made her way to the waiting ship. Garnet placed her visor back on and followed after her. It was only when the two of them fully boarded the ship did Steven remember that Peridot was still watching him. She approached him while fumbling with something hidden in her pile of tools.
"Here," she said, offering him a small white device. He took it and inspected it's colorful sides. "You should be able to contact any Diamond with this."
"So, it's a phone?" he asked, turning the device around in his hands a few times. Maybe he could try calling Twoie.
"A communicator, yes," Peridot confirmed. "I've tried dialing Pink Diamond a few times, but no one's answered yet."
Steven perked up. "I'll keep trying!" If there was anything he could do to help then he was willing to try it. With luck, he could get into contact with Twoie and convince him to come home.
Peridot boarded the ship without another word. A few seconds later it sprung to life and took off into the air. Steven waited until it was nothing more than a speck in the sky before turning his attention back to the communicator in his hand. He pressed the pink side of the device for the first of many times and anxiously waited for a response.
Either Yellow Diamond was taking an especially long time to arrive or Twoie was even weaker than he'd suspected because he soon found himself drifting off to sleep. He curled up against the hard surface of the pink armrest and dreamt that he was back in his time where the situation with the Diamonds was more or less resolved. Of course, his small moment of respite didn't last long as he was almost immediately jolted awake by the loud and rumbling thuds of approaching footsteps. He shot up into a sitting position, his muscles impossibly tense and his gaze darting over to the large set of doors at the end of the room—the only way inside.
The footsteps grew even louder and the very ground began to shake. The ornate doors flung themselves open. Twoie's pulse raced at the sight of not one, but two Diamonds. Well, that certainly explained where Yellow Diamond had been.
"… complicated situation, Blue!" Yellow Diamond stomped into the room, a deep frown already on her face. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Everything can't just go back to how it use—"
"All that matters is that we're together again, Yellow." Blue Diamond was almost timid in the way she entered, her steps slow and hesitant. She placed a hand on Yellow Diamond's shoulder. "We should be celebrating. This will mark the beginning of a new era."
Yellow Diamond sighed. "White won't see it that way…"
Twoie found himself tugging at his pink gloves as he ran through a mental checklist of the proper etiquette required for such a meeting. He schooled his face into an emotionless expression, squared his shoulder, and straightened his back. Neither of them had acknowledged his presence yet.
A few hushed words were exchanged between the two Diamonds before Yellow finally relaxed enough to start the meeting. She plopped down in her throne with Blue Diamond following suit.
Blue Diamond was only seated for a moment before their gazes locked, her eyes widening and shimmering with unshed tears. A second later he was being scooped up and cradled against Blue Diamond's face. "Oh Pink!" she cried. "It really is you!"
Twoie had hoped dressing as Pink Diamond would garner a positive reaction, but even he had expected Blue Diamond to have some suspicions towards him. However, it looked like he was wrong. Blue Diamond immediately accepted that he was Pink Diamond. Not that he was complaining, this would just make things easier on his part. Yellow Diamond let Blue Diamond cry for a few minutes before making her return him to his seat so the meeting could continue.
One of the first topics discussed was how he was able to survive the Diamond attack. He explained it as best as he could and easily got them to agree to healing the corrupted gems on earth. Everything was going perfectly. Maybe it was because he was older, or maybe he had just gotten better at knowing exactly what to say, but the Diamonds were actively listening to him. Surprisingly, they didn't even completely disagree with him on the idea of giving gems more freedom.
"Living like this must have been torture for you, Pink," Blue lamented, a few stray tears rolling down her face.
"I suppose there are a few changes we could stand to make," Yellow agreed. "If it would make you less… miserable, Pink."
He suspected with a bit more time he would be able to convince them to fully abolish the Diamond Authority to make way for something more democratic instead. The real issue came when he tried to convince them that he wasn't really Pink Diamond. Blue had become inconsolable and latched onto Yellow for support.
"I'm sure your memories are in there somewhere, Pink," Yellow Diamond said, her gaze drifting over to his exposed gemstone. She awkwardly patted Blue Diamond and the back. "Perhaps it would best if we continued this discussion later when we've all had time to calm down."
Twoie wanted to protest, but found himself immobilized. A painful and buzzing static ran through his body. Yellow Diamond took his silence as agreement and guided Blue Diamond out of the meeting room, making several attempts to console her fellow diamond. The doors to the meeting room opened and closed, leaving Twoie alone.
He finally managed to move his arm only to watch it terrifyingly distort in front of him. It flickered and glitched like it was some sort of faulty video game and not a part of his body. He cried out in pain and curled into himself. His whole body shook and for a second he feared that he had run out of time, then the moment passed.
He stared at his hand a good while after the glitching ended, making sure it wasn't permanently damaged. He made a fist. It looked normal, but felt weaker somehow. He tried not to think about it too much as he made his way back to Pink Diamond's old room.
Peridot glanced up from her spot on the floor as another ship came dangerously close to spotting them.
"Cut the engine," Garnet said. "They won't investigate if we let them pass us by."
Pearl immediately complied with the fusions orders and the ship came to a complete standstill.
"We can't keep stopping every time we see another ship." Lapis was leaned against the wall, her gaze firmly affixed to the floor. "We'll never get to Homeworld at this rate."
"We are starting to see a lot more ships," Amethyst agreed. "Maybe we can just blend in and hope nobody notices us."
"Amethyst, that's too risky," Pearl said. "We could get caught."
A small argument broke out on what should be done, but Peridot did her best to ignore it. Her main concern right now was fixing the time piece. She made some major modifications to its outdated hardware, fixed its faulty power source, and was now furiously trying to sort its tangled wiring.
The handship continued on its course for Homeworld, stopping a few times when another ship came too close, and was generally making slow progress until Garnet started to give strange orders. Peridot readjusted a small bundle of delicate wires and watched as Garnet directed Pearl to stop for no reason. Pearl did as she was told, but sent Garnet a confused stare which quickly disappeared when a small ship passed them by.
"Good catch," Pearl said.
Garnet nodded and adjusted her visor. Pearl continued forward like nothing had happened.
Peridot frowned. There was no way Garnet would have been able to see a patrol ship that small moving that fast. Her suspicions only grew as Garnet's orders started to become more and more convoluted. She ordered Pearl to slow down, speed up, take inefficient routes—all at the most seemingly random times.
The odd behavior was starting to distract Peridot from her work, but she had no idea why. What did it matter to her if the route they were taking back to Homeworld was less than ideal? Garnet's directions were certainly strange, but so far it had kept them safe from detection. No, what bothered her was Garnet's uncanny ability to spot nearby ships even when they were out of view. It was almost as if she could predict where they would show up, but that shouldn't have been possible, not with Twoie interfering with the timeline.
It was only when they stopped near a potentially dangerous asteroid field did Peridot finally decide to speak up about her strange behavior. "Why are we stopping here?"
"I saw a ship nearby," Garnet said, but one glance outside revealed no ships in the area. That is, until a ship hidden behind one of the asteroids revealed itself and zoomed by them.
"It was impossible for anyone to see that ship," Peridot accused. "There's something you're not telling us."
"Garnet would never hide something from us," Pearl defended only to deflate at Garnet's suspicious silence. "Garnet?"
"I should have told everybody sooner," Garnet said, addressing the whole crew. "but I wasn't sure and I didn't want to worry Steven."
"What do you mean you didn't want to worry Steven?" Amethyst asked, a small frown on her face. "Is there something we should be worried about?"
Garnet was silent for a beat. "I… don't know," she finally said. "All I know is that for some reason my future vision is working again."
The ship lurched forward and Peridot had to scramble to secure the timepiece.
"What?" Pearl cried. "But Twoie… I thoug—"
"It might be temporary," Garnet said. "Twoie is far away on Homeworld right now. He might be too far to interfere with my future vision."
No one said anything after that, but Peridot couldn't help but worry that something had gone horribly wrong.
Twoie picked up his pace, ignoring the occasional jolts of pain that traveled up his body, and focused on the quiet whir that seemed to be following him. He whipped around only to be greeted by a long empty stretch of hallway. He shook his head and continued onward.
The almost imperceptible sound returned, but he continued walking. He must have been imagining things. He was almost at Pink Diamond's room now. He would catch up with Jasper and try to get some sleep before his next meeting with the other Diamonds.
"Pink Diamond, your presence is required."
He jumped, chills running up his spine at the emotionless voice. A bleached Pearl hovered in front of him, an unnerving grin plastered on her half cracked face. He wasn't given the chance to respond as he was enveloped in a sphere and dragged off somewhere a moment later.
When the white orb imprisoning him finally disappeared, Twoie was left staring at an immaculate white floor. In fact, everything around him was now a brilliant shade of white—the floors, the ceiling, and the four impenetrable walls keeping him trapped.
"Pink, there you are."
Twoie had to cover his eyes just to glance up at the blinding presence that was White Diamond. A large smile stretched across her face, one that didn't quite reach her eyes. A cold and heavy feeling settled in his stomach, making him take a step back. He suddenly wished he was back with Blue and Yellow.
"As for this latest little game of yours, thank the stars it's over. Did you have fun? Did you get everything out of your system?"
There was no time in between her questions for him to reply and Twoie highly doubted that she cared about his answers anyway. Not like it mattered since he had more important things to concern himself with. He was standing in front of White Diamond, a terrifying, but also great opportunity. If he could get through to her then Steven would never have to deal with the Diamonds. Too bad she wouldn't listen to him.
"White, I—"
"Good, good," she continued, ignorant of his thinning patience. "Everyone is so reliev—"
"I'm not Pink Diamond" The abrupt statement was enough to give White Diamond pause. "She's gone, White."
White Diamond's smile only grew wider. "Oh Pink, you always were stubborn. You've even managed to fool yourself."
"No, you're wrong!" he shouted, his hand subconsciously drifting to his gem. He could feel the familiar pink buzz of his powers pooling into his cheeks, but didn't try to stop it. He needed all the power he could get right now. "Pink Diamond is gone! And she is never coming back."
"Pink, stop lying to your—"
"You're not listening to me!" White Diamond went silent, annoyance and amusement flashing across her eyes. "Pink Diamond is gone, really gone. I know you think pulling my gem out will bring her back, but it won't."
White Diamond's eyes actually widened a bit at that. "How di—"
"My gem was already pulled out once." by you, he wanted to add, but he knew it would only lead to unnecessary confusion so he kept that part to himself. A memory of a pink version of himself flashed in his mind. Having his gem ripped out of him had been an unbearably painful experience, but had proved that he really wasn't his mom. He was his own person. "She didn't come back. Even if she did, she wouldn't want to come back to Homeworld. Everybody is miserable here, White—even Yellow and Blue, but it doesn't have to stay that way."
"Yellow and Blue are miserable," White Diamond repeated, an almost curious expression on her face. She actually seemed to be listening to him now. "How would you propose we fix that, Pink?"
Twoie suppressed a scowl at her use of the name Pink, but ignored it for the time being. "We dismantle the empire," he said, cutting straight to the chase. "We give all gems the freedom to choose who they want to be. I know it sounds impossible and maybe even crazy, but it has worked before. On earth, gems are allowed to live freely and they are so much happier because of it."
"I understand now."
Twoie blinked. "You… do?" it couldn't be that easy, could it? In his time it took him years to even get to speak with White Diamond and now, not only did she seek him out, but she actually agreed with him.
"It was foolish of me to try and change you." She continued to smile at him, but her eyes had turned cold. "Sometimes we must do things we hate for the greater good."
The tension in his shoulders loosened. "So, yo—"
White Diamond's eyes grew impossibly bright before shooting out a blast of energy. He summoned his shield on reflex, the beam of light harmlessly bouncing off it. She frowned and sent another beam his way, but Twoie was prepared and raised his shield again.
Her eyes narrowed. "This is for your own good, Starlight."
Another blast, this one much stronger. Twoie grit his teeth as he struggled to weather the attack, his heels attempting to dig into the smooth floor. He was pushed back a few feet, but remained unharmed.
"White, stop!" he pleaded, his arms shaking under the strain of her continued attacks. "You don't have to do this!"
To his surprise, White Diamond actually stopped and for a brief moment a flicker of hope lit up inside of Twoie. A hope that maybe White Diamond would listen this time, that they could resolve this without the need for fighting, but that hope was quickly extinguished as another beam of light crashed into his shield.
"I'm afraid you've left me no other choice," she said, no hint of remorse in her voice.
He withstood the blow, but the same could not be said about his shield. It flickered before disappearing completely.
White Diamond wasted no time in sending him another hit. Twoie summoned his shield again, but it was a glitching weak mess and only barely prevented the attack from reaching him. The shockwave from the blow sent him colliding against the nearest wall, his head taking the brunt of the damage.
He groaned, vision swimming as he struggled to get up. His whole body erupted in pain as he glitched violently. Everything hurt. He could feel himself slipping into unconsciousness, but he wouldn't allow himself to rest. He was this close to fixing everything and there was no way he was giving up now.
His skin began to glow pink as he forced himself to stand, his legs wobbling and swaying as they struggled to support his weight. His entire body flickered causing him to cry out as a searing agony assaulted all his senses.
"Look at what you've done to yourself."
She sent another blast of energy his way. He threw himself to the side, narrowly avoiding getting hit. His heart pounded against his chest, blood rushing in his ears as he evaded attack after attack.
"That's enough!" White growled when another of her attacks failed to hit their intended target.
Sweat poured down his face. He leapt up in the air and desperately searched for a way out, but there were no doors, no windows, no escape. He rolled onto the ground as he avoided another beam of light.
"I only want you to be yourself." Her eyes grew even brighter as she charged up an attack. "If you can't do that, then I'll do it for you!"
The whole room was engulfed in a blinding light. The energy of the attack crackled and buzzed outside of the pink bubble he had erected. His breaths came out in short uneven puffs and he was forced to shrink his bubble in order to conserve energy. He couldn't keep this up forever and White Diamond knew it. She stopped her attack and watched as his bubble began to dim and weaken. Even the pink energy humming under his skin didn't feel as strong as it used to. He channeled all his remaining strength and directed it at keeping his bubble up.
Tears pooled in his eyes. His bubble was fading, blinking in and out of existence. He weakly pushed against it, trying to get it to roll away. He couldn't stay here. He needed to find the exit. His body spasmed, crumbling onto the unforgiving floor at the same time that his last line of defense disappeared.
White Diamond's eyes began to glow. "This is for the best, Starlight."
Splotches of black dotted his vision. He tried to crawl away, but could only get his pink fingers to twitch before his body refused to move. Exhaustion seeped into his bones and it was all he could do just to keep his eyes open. No, stop, he wanted to shout. It couldn't end like this. His body glitched again, but he didn't feel anything.
It was too late, he had lost.
An all encompassing white light was the only thing he was aware of in his final moments
