Note: Takes place the morning after "Bismuth"; three days after the events of "Steven vs Amethyst"; and the morning of "Beta" and "Earthlings"
"I don't have any choice, do I? I fight, I die. I don't try to, I die anyway. I'm trying to do some good, to stop feeling like...this...but I only end up feeling worse."
"Then don't stop."
"What?"
"Ever since you came ta us, you've been doing everything you can to help out. That's more than most Gems I've ever met."
"Even if it wound up—"
"That's another thing. Whoever's fault it was that we lost so many of our friends, it wasn't yours."
"That's not—"
"Same with your sisters. They knew what they were gettin' into, and I know they went down with no regrets."
"..."
"They won't get away with this."
"...Promise?"
"Swear on my gem, Sparky."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Pearl swore to herself long ago that she would learn to accept the eccentricities of all her teammates.
Still a work-in-progress. In her defense, certain individuals had a special way of nettling her, even after she had buried the metaphorical hatchet with them. Amethyst naturally held a place of honor in that department.
And yet Pearl still tried, for the sake of her friends.
That's what the ballerina swordfighter reminded herself when she and Garnet knocked on the front door of Flores and Gardening on this cool Saturday morning. Because in any other situation, she would have scoffed at Amber lounging in her armchair with a lit pipe in her mouth like some anthropomorphic adaptation of Sherlock Holmes despite how she never shapeshifted lungs in the first place.
Instead, Pearl kept her patience steady and waited for her friend to respond.
As of now, Amber was tapping the mouthpiece of the pipe against her chin, eyes trained on the floor in a pensive stare. She looked up at the two Crystal Gems seated on the armchairs across from her before she waved the pipe in a circle, her way of saying 'carry on'.
Pearl sighed. She figured Amber wouldn't be satisfied with what they'd told her so far.
"Look," she sighed with a hint of exasperation, "we only found out where she'd been yesterday morning, let alone why she wound up where she did last night." Stars knew they themselves were still reeling from what Steven told them. And not much needed to be said for why they never told Bismuth of Amber's whereabouts either let alone her condition.
All the same, Amber closed her eyes contemplatively before letting out a sigh and cast a disappointed sigh on a vase of roses in one of the shelves lining the room.
Pearl got the implication and winced. She knew Amber had ample reason to disapprove of Rose's actions—all of them did when one thought about it (not that the others would voice as such). Amber especially deserved the truth behind one of her closest friends missing for so long after the war, considering how much of an emotional support the weapon-maker had been for her back then.
But that fact also raised a question, one Garnet addressed as she cocked her head. "You only looked surprised when we told you where Bismuth was found, not that she was found at all."
That observation caused Amber to angle her eyes away and Pearl to widen hers in realization at Garnet's valid point. The lithe Gem put a hand to her mouth in shock. "How long had you suspected Rose was lying about Bismuth?" she asked in wonder. When Amber continued to neither answer nor look them in the eye, Pearl knitted her brows in concern. "Did you...ever confront her about this?"
The continued silence weighed down on Pearl and Garnet until at last Amber deposited the ash in her pipe into a small black tray on the stand next to her chair, set aside the pipe, and hopped onto the floor. At first, the other Gems feared the molehog would end this conversation by leaving the room but instead Amber went for a tall chest of drawers standing in the left corner behind her chair.
When the yellow Gem pulled out a medium gray sphere from the bottom drawer, Pearl recognized the item with a gasp, a hand over her mouth while Garnet pursed her lips in a serious manner, braced for whatever Amber intended to show. Taking the notebook and pencil next to the tray, the molehog walked up to Pearl and offered the orb to her.
My Chronicle Globe from the Rebellion. Forgot about it after my corruption, but Rose returned it to help me communicate. Her expression saddened. Everything I experienced that day is recorded there.
For a moment, Pearl could only gape in Amber in shock, not believing that her old friend would hand something this personal to her. One look into those dark eyes though and Pearl knew Amber meant none of this act in jest. Feeling deeply honored, she shared an understanding nod with Garnet before taking the globe into her hands as delicately as she would Rose's sword and scabbard.
With the utmost care, Pearl took the top hemisphere in her slender fingers and gently twisted it. Right away, the globe's circuitry started to glow sterling white. Before any of the Gems could blink, the glow spread from the globe to the entire room, coating everything in the patterns, which thickened until all the surroundings became a paper-blank void.
Then bit by bit, shapes and colors started to fill in the space like a sketch being drawn to life. Pearl and Garnet stood up as the scene completed itself; they had a feeling they'd end standing up anyway by the end of this recording. Looking around the familiar cavernous area, Garnet noted Amber's absence but decided against calling the yellow Gem out on it. The fusion had a hunch the molehog preferred not to re-experience this memory.
That said a lot about the kind of scene she and Pearl were about to witness.
Speaking of whom, Garnet felt her teammate's nimble hand softly taking hold of her bicep and tugging, an attempt to get her attention. When she did direct her gaze to Pearl, she needed no Future Vision to know the reason behind the lithe Renegade's wide-eyed stupor. Hands balled out of resolve, Garnet looked up as well just in time to see Rose and Amber—past Rose and Amber—emerge from the triangular entrance, where the former left behind a pink bubble encasing a green double-cut gemstone.
"...and that's why I'd like for you to come with me. It'll be easier to convince the leader to volunteer if I have someone to vouch—and who better than you? Besides, now that humanity's had time to improve on their understanding of the world, I think integrating her with a human group in this day and age should streamline the process more easily."
Amber merely nodded as she followed along, though only Garnet and Pearl noticed the somberness in her eyes.
Rose put a hand to her chin. "We could try that one community up in northern Treasure. A few of the human there are open-minded and the leader's already pretty much settled, what with her posing as part of the wildlife for so long. I think I even caught her interacting with them once, so—"
A gentle tug on her dress cut Rose off. She turned to Amber with a patient yet curious smile. "Yes?"
Walking up to the massive console that overtook the side of the room opposite of the entrance, Amber put an electrified hand on a panel to activate the machine. Once the screen lit up a bright pink, English typed across the screen in black blocky text. It sounds doable, but we should still be careful. We can't expect all of those humans to understand. You remember the last time an attempt like this blew in our faces, don't you?
Surprise flitted across Rose's face, as though she hadn't expected Amber to bring that memory up, before she sighed at the rightful concern. Unlike the Lenape, the nearby tribes hadn't been as...welcoming to the idea of housing corrupted Gems. And forget the settlers; one passing look at a witch trail had been enough to put that option out of both Amber and Rose's heads.
"I do," she quickly regained her smile however, "but that was a long time ago, Amber. We have a better idea what to do now." At Amber's skeptical stare, Rose giggled behind her hand abashedly. "Well, what not to do, to be more precise."
Despite herself, Amber bit back a smile of her own as she exhaled in exasperation. Even in the darkest of times, Rose had a way of lifting the tension.
"But let's save that for after this," Rose sidled her eyes to the entrance, "the others should be coming here soon. They noticed the lightning storm you let of earlier during your fight with that Onyx." Her eyes sidled to Amber. "That's what we were hoping for, right?"
Pearl and Garnet shared a suspicious glance at the question. They'd long suspected that Rose drawing their presence to the Strawberry Fields had been premediated. It sounded like the sort of plan their former leader would have concocted. But that alone never explained the battle-worn condition they found her in.
The reason had been obvious, even back then, but what about the reason behind that reason? Why had there been a fight here at all?
Indeed, Rose averted her eyes to the ground for a second, as though debating something with herself, her smile dimming. "I have to admit...I'm still a little iffy about this," she ended with a nervous chuckle.
Amber patted Rose's pudgy hand to comfort her. Save for Amethyst, you've all known each other for 5000 plus years. And from what you told me, Amethyst has taken quite the shine to you. They'll understand when you tell them the truth.
Despite the gentle and assuring smile Amber accompanied with her words, Rose looked away with a downward gaze filling with guilt and worry, her smile a ghost of itself by this point. "You make it sound so easy," she started in a small voice, "I know what to tell them, I know how to tell them," she shrugged, "but no matter how much I tell myself it's for the best, the thought of their reactions..."
Another tug on her dress brought her attention to Amber and the screen.
You don't want to disappoint them.
Rose smiled more genuinely, grateful for her smaller friend's empathy.
Smiling back, Amber cocked her head. Do you remember when Pearl and I had that argument shortly after you guys found me and that child?
Pearl couldn't help but cringe. She remembered that altercation all too well.
Rose nodded. "I remember. Bismuth was the one who found you and brought you back."
I never could've brought myself to join the rebellion after what happened. Not if she hadn't gone after me. I felt like such a failure back then—to you, to Pearl, to the other Crystal Gems...to my sisters...
"It sounds like Bismuth really inspired you," Rose chuckled faintly, "She always had that effect on others."
Amber shuffled her feet. I wouldn't say 'inspired'. More like she renewed my sense of hope. I lost so much after I emerged from the Earth. Giving up felt like the most sensible thing to do.
"But you didn't," Rose replied with conviction, "You and your sisters turned against Homeworld for the planet you came from. You kept going to see that wish through. And now here you are."
Neither Pearl nor Garnet had any idea how to feel about the sentiment coming from Rose. 'Here you are' validated undergoing corruption and feeling isolated from other Gems. At the same time, though, they could get what Rose intended to say. Judging by the forced smile on Amber's muzzle, they could tell she felt the same and was thus holding the observation to herself.
Instead the molehog twiddled her toes like a nervous child, the perfect façade of meekness. Bismuth told me the exact same thing, told me that every time I felt like surrendering. That's why I felt so sad and hurt when you told us what happened to her.
Something in Rose's eyes shifted. Pearl and Garnet knew that look well enough to know that Rose was currently experiencing a rare moment: she had been played.
And yet even as the carnation Gem spoke, her voice remained steady, belied only by the wariness in her eyes. "Yes. Her disappearance was a great loss to all of us."
Did you ever find traces of her?
A moment of silence. Rose gently wrung her hands, eyes not meeting her friend's, and shook her head. "I tried. Homeworld made sure we found none of her remains. I suppose that was their way of intimidating us."
Amber tilted her head again, eyes searching...knowing.
Actually, it always struck me as odd how Homeworld's forces just happened to attack you both at the volcano.
Pearl caught the subtle tension in her former leader's shoulders. Rose had forgotten how well Amber could detect liars.
Because I remember right before we lost her how she told me and Pearl that she hoped to give the rebellion an edge. Maybe even end it early before we lost anymore friends.
Amber started to walk a circle around Rose, hands behind her back, and though the smaller Gem's eyes were no longer on her, Rose remained cautious. Pearl insisted that was wishful thinking. Of course, we both know how stubborn Bismuth could be. In fact, if memory still serves me right, her last words to me were about how she had big plans, plans she couldn't wait to tell you.
Amber stopped between the Rose and the terminal. A small part of Pearl resented how Amber took pleasure in the way her shadow, fortified by the screen's amaranth light, swallowed Rose as though the former soldier were facing a Diamond. The yellow Gem's eyes zeroed in on her 'friend', accusing and stern.
Bismuth never died, did she?
Rose remained where she stood, stricken and silent.
Why isn't she free?
"You know how charismatic Bismuth was," Rose quickly replied in a terse tone, all pretenses dropped. "The rebellion would have disintegrated."
Amber rolled her eyes. I know that. What I don't know is why you're keeping her bubbled after the fact. Her face softened as she held her clawed hands out. The rebellion is over, Rose. Bismuth will understand if you just let her out and explain yourself, just like how the others will understand why you kept me a secret.
For a moment, just one brief moment, Rose folded in on herself, as if to agree...then she hardened, Quartz leader once more.
"No. I can't risk that. The rebellion may be over, but that doesn't mean the war is. You're right; letting Bismuth out means telling her everything that happened: all the friends she lost, all the lives that might have been spared if I let her have her way."
Closing her eyes, Amber breathed through her nose to keep her patience steady. Then tell me, Rose. What was 'her way'? What was the 'big plan' that warranted you sealing her away for so long?
Rose broke eye contact to divert her heavy focus to the wall, as if to delay facing the subject. She knew better. "Bismuth intended to shatter the Diamonds—all of them—with a weapon made specifically to destroy a target's gemstone. She hoped I'd approve it as a means of ending the rebellion."
Why didn't you then?
Rose gawked as though Amber had just asked why they ever rebelled at all. "Because it would have only made things worse for everyone! What Bismuth envisioned was foolhardy and reckless! Whether or not I agreed, any forces following her plan would have most likely failed in the end."
With a step forward, Amber hardened her countenance, the typing on the screen slowing in its pace, as though Rose herself was the one being slow. You could have worked out an alternative, like some way to lure the Diamonds out so they'd be easier to pick off.
"Shattering one of them was enough!" Rose retorted in a heated tone. "I was lucky to accomplish even that!"
The ferocity behind Amber's scowl unnerved even Garnet, the molehog's teeth bared like a wild animal's. No, it wasn't enough! The Diamonds sit atop the whole hierarchy. They are the ones driving Homeworld. They are the ones who get to sit back and bask in their glory and power while the rest of Gemkind cracks its stones just to 'serve' them. They deserve what Bismuth intended!
Rose massaged her temples in an attempt to calm herself. Neither Pearl nor Garnet could ever recall seeing their ex-leader so frustrated. "And what about Homeworld itself? It may not be our home anymore, but it still is for our people! Even if Homeworld is awful, the Gems who depend on it don't deserve to be left in the dark!"
Whatever sort of response everyone expected out of Amber, it had not been her staring at Rose with more hurt than anyone present had ever seen on her, eyes starting to mist up.
Yet she never cried, she never yelled. Rather her face saddened.
Why not? Us Gems are worth nothing more than the dirt we crawled out of, after all.
That sentence stunned past and present Gem alike. Pearl with both hands over her mouth, eyes wide. Garnet with mouth agape and hands frozen open. And Rose...Rose had nothing to say. How could she? She could only stand there, mouth hung open and eyes wide from disbelief.
Amber gave her no time to respond.
I am so sick of us thinking we can do whatever we want—with each other, with other lifeforms, with the universe—just because the Diamonds say we're more advanced. The quills on Amber's back started to puff out, like those of a porcupine ready to lash out. How we know better than everyone else. Do you know how many human lives I've seen ruined—not just because of Homeworld but because of the fighting our war wrought?
The hurt compassion in Rose's could not have been more painful to see. "I-I know that! But none of us could help that! That's war!"
You sure? Because I can still remember the talks I overhead from our so-called teammates, talks about getting the humans to 'work' for us, about making sure they show gratitude to us for saving their world.
Garnet winced and Pearl grimaced. They well remembered such conversations and never abided by them. No matter how much humans puzzled them, neither the fusion nor Renegade ever fancied the idea of forcing on humanity what they themselves tried so hard to defy.
All of this, they never told Rose, for so many reasons. And as they took in their departed friend's agonized shock, Pearl wished with every photon in her being that they had.
"I-I...," Rose barely managed to stammer, head tilted away though she never took her eyes off Amber, "I had no idea that..."
Amber deflated. Of course not. You never got to hear and see as much hypocrisy as me. How can someone expect you to treat organic life as inferior when you're dealt the same treatment every waking second—or still dealt it as a matter of fact? Because having how you feel about your fellow Gem type treated like the rantings of a maniac? Not fun.
"Amber...," Rose started as she held a hand out.
So, are you going to bubble me now? I could tell from the slightly higher emissions from your gemstone that you're carrying your sword in it. It'd fit perfectly with what you said to Pearl the other day, about how you were thinking about calling off a certain project of yours.
Despite knowing better, Pearl wanted so badly to retort otherwise. She knew what conversation Amber must be referring to, she had suspected what Rose had meant back then, but she had no idea it would have entailed something like this.
Rose, of similar mind, shook her head vehemently. "Amber! Please. I don't want this to be like with Bismuth!"
Amber narrowed her eyes even more now. Well we both know you have no intentions of letting her out, just like you have no intentions of revealing me to the others. Then she pointed a claw at her. And since you won't come out and tell them the truth, I will.
A look of disbelief and confusion took over Rose. "But...you're corrupted! There's no guarantee they'll listen to you."
Oh they'll certainly listen. They just need an incentive. Or better yet—a sly smirk came across Amber as she raised a fist—a hostage.
WHAM!
The moment Amber slammed that fist onto the console, a smooth shimmering barrier came into existence from the center top and encompassed most of the room, resembling a makeshift arena, leaving the spectators and bubbled Onyx just outside it and Rose inside. Amber stepped in as well just before the barrier sealed off.
"Amber," Rose tried one last time as she summoned her shield, voice guarded yet calm, "We can still talk this."
The response the carnation Quartz received consisted of a barrage of electrified quills, forcing her to raise her shield against the attack.
Amber was done talking.
In the blink of an eye, the molehog summoned four massive spheres of golden energy that flew from her hands and seemed to sink halfway into the ground, acting like energy mines that severely restricted her opponent's movements. Indeed Rose cautiously watched her step, well familiar with how damaging her friend's powers could be to even the sturdiest of Quartzes.
But no way could Amber have regained the same dexterity from before her corruption, not yet...right?
Rose had no further time to wonder as Amber disappeared from sight and reappeared at the top of the barrier to unleash another storm of quills, which the pink stone deftly blocked—just as Amber intended.
In another flash, Amber warped right behind Rose's legs and delivered an electrified leg sweep, forcing the Quartz to jump out of the attack's range. With her opponent now in the air, Amber seized the opportunity to will the mine spheres to fly out the ground and towards Rose, seeking to catch her in the crossfire.
Out of pure reflex, Rose tucked herself into a spin-dash and soared out of the way just before the balls collided and exploded into a flash that forced Pearl and Garnet to cover their eyes. Amber, completely unaffected, eyed the trajectory of her target's path and warped out of sight right before Rose came out of her roll and landed back on her feet.
The moment she did, she found her throat in a vice grip, a circle of electrical energy constricting her while Amber reappeared behind her with one hand held out, her face set in deadly determination. What's more, violent glitches started to overtake her form, her body flickering blue more and more as Amber started to ball her hand.
Garnet grit her teeth, hands shaking, while Pearl covered her mouth in tears and bit back the futile urge to rush in and stop all this, neither of them wanting to see their friends do this to each other.
Right before the molehog could complete her fist and finish the job, Rose willed her bubble into existence, destroying the bind and returning its energy in a rush of force that sent Amber reeling. This maneuver spared Rose enough time to recover then launch herself towards the ceiling of the barrier, shield aimed towards the top.
Pearl realized Rose's intentions in an instant. Force fields such as this one had been designed to protect the Gems at the controls and be flexible in who and what it could protect, ranging from the Gems themselves, to the controls, to even the entire floating island housing the machines.
But there existed a weak point: the very top where the energy converged. With a normal weapon, be it Gem or otherwise, the barrier would remain intact but if a strike returned enough energy—
BONK-CRACK!
Rose bounced back from the recoil but managed to halt the descent with her floatation abilities—only to gasp in shock when she noticed the cracks were immediately starting to mend themselves! Catching on quickly, Rose shot a glance at Amber just in time to see the electrokinetic turn away from a part of the arena's wall where she'd been feeding her power into the construct to keep it whole.
With a distempered frown, Amber waved a hand to summon a plethora of yellow lasers around the Quartz, the bars of light suspended like possessed arrows before they shot at Rose.
Except Rose proved too fast. In fact, she proved too quick on her feet for she took advantage of the lasers' homing ability to make them strike the barrier's top instead, forcing Amber call off the attack to undo the damage. She couldn't afford to let Rose get away, not if it meant letting herself and Bismuth and everything else Rose hid fade away forever.
She was done being a secret to the only Gems left for her to consider friends.
With renewed resolve, Amber started to glow a fierce shade of gold and turned with glaring eyes alit in white to Rose, who landed on the opposite side of the arena, ready for another attack. Suddenly the glow around Amber started to snake and twist in front of her, growing and shifting into something.
That's when Rose, along with Pearl and Garnet, gasped at the shape the figure had taken: a massive bear reared on its hind legs, its hulking head raising to cast matching glowing eyes on Rose. At the command of Amber's screeching snarl, the bear let off a resounding roar as it shot towards Rose with the speed of a bullet.
Rose barely had enough time to raise her shield again (the bear almost reached the ceiling and left no room to maneuver around it).
Big mistake.
So focused on the incoming behemoth, she failed to noticed Amber's sudden absence until she heard a whoosh right behind her, followed by the feel of something clinging its claws into her mass of hair. Right as she did, the room seemed to vanish around her, the floor included.
Except it hadn't. Rose had just been teleported by her new passenger to far above the Strawberry Fields—along with the Lightning Bear, which reappeared right in her face, eye to eye, and exploded instantaneously in a blinding burst that forced Pearl and Garnet—they now stood midair far above the terrain—to shield their eyes.
Immediately after, two figures went souring out of the resultant smoke-cloud and landed hard into a patch of strawberries, the fruits' red juices splattering over all over the two stones upon landing. They bounced and skidded a few feet until they finally came to a stop.
Silence reigned...
Then slowly, ever so slowly, Amber rose to her feet and wobbled on her feet before righting herself. Even though Rose took most of the blast, the force of it still left Amber pretty shaken and fairly electrocuted herself. Thank the stars for electrical resistance in that case.
Now then, to finally carry out what she meant to do.
Waving a clawed finger, Amber conjured more binds to keep Rose still, let alone prevent her from drawing her sword. Then with a final huff, she marched towards Rose with claws crackling with energy. Once she reached the felled Quartz, she raised a hand...
"Maybe it is best you did this."
Amber paused in mid-swing and blinked out of surprise. Though Rose never raised her head, Amber could hear the regret in her voice.
"I'm such a coward. I almost let Bismuth out once you know, right after the Rebellion ended. It was right before we found you. I asked myself if it was too soon, if she still needed time. So I didn't. I tried again a decade later and still didn't. Decades, centuries...eventually it got to the point that I couldn't bring myself to do it. I was just too scared."
A weak chuckle sounded out.
"It's kind of funny, huh? I could lead an entire army against a massive empire yet not have the courage to tell my friends what's wrong," she angled her saddened eyes and smile at Amber, "I'm so sorry I hid you away as though you were something to be ashamed of. You never were. I guess I was just...scared it would end horribly, that you might end up bubbled, never to see the world again."
"That's why I told Pearl I'd be 'ending this project', why I brought my sword with me. I thought I could take you someplace faraway, someplace where you could be happy and safe...but that was just another way for me to run away, wasn't it?"
Her face crumbled into something rare for the Rebellion leader: a look of defeat. "I can't fix what's happened to you, not on my own; maybe I never will. But I do think there's a chance and I think the key to that lies in humanity."
"ROSE?!" Amber, Pearl, and Garnet all stiffened at the familiar call of past Pearl's voice.
When Amber looked back down at Rose, the pink Quartz gave her a small yet assuring smile.
"Whatever you do from here on out, I hope it's what makes you happy."
...SWSSSHH!
In a resounding poof, Rose's gemstone fell to the grassy ground as Amber collapsed to her knees and held her head, her thoughts distraught.
She couldn't do it; she just couldn't, not after Rose looked at her like that, those gentle eyes seared into the molehog's mind! Her dark eyes cast upon the pink stone, torn emotions raging. Bismuth deserved to be free, Rose was wrong to deny her that for so long...yet she never did it out of cruelty.
All she wanted was to keep from losing even more friends, just like Bismuth.
That realization shook Amber to her core. With trembling hands, Amber hid Rose's gemstone in a nearby bush so that her friend would have time to return.
Although Quartzes had quick regeneration times, a necessity for when you're designed for fighting, Amber felt she owed Rose a chance to save face. Besides, on the off-chance Rose didn't come back in time, the others wouldn't have the fright of seeing their leader reduced to her base form.
Turning to the distance, Amber noticed faint flashes of light in the distance—the result of Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst striking against the additional barrier Amber set around the land so her and Rose's fight would go uninterrupted.
Amber warped back into the computer room and set the computer to deactivate the smaller barrier inside. As for the larger counterpart, she set it for a timer of 8 hours, giving Rose more than enough time to regenerate so she'd be as good as new. Then she took the bubble and its occupant, peaceful despite the madness that took place here, and warped back to the bush to hide them alongside Rose.
And when she looked over her shoulder to gaze out at the horizon, she regarded the distant flashes with regret before vanishing from sight.
She'd messed up enough here.