"You know this is crazy. Right?" Chameleon said, biting her lower lip as she kicked her feet back and forth, she and the rest of the Famethyst staring out the window as the Zoo started the process of entering Homeworld's atmosphere, the area around them growing hotter and hotter.
Skinny nodded curtly. "Not as crazy as wiping out an entire race of gems who proclaimed their love and loyalty to you." she said flatly.
"So if we know this, why are we going back here anyway?" 8XL said, crossing their arms and jumping when Skinny slammed her hand on the table, standing abruptly. "Because we're not fucking cowards." she snapped, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly before speaking again.
"Look guys…I'm scared too." she said, turning back to her crew as the ship touched down on the ground below.
"But. The Diamonds are going to try to wipe out everyone in a few hours, and have so many gems convinced that they're there to play nice and reward them for their loyalty. They're walking into a trap and don't even know it." she said, taking a deep breath and looking back at her crew. "We're the only gems with a ship who knows what's really about to happen. We may not be able to save everyone, but the least we can do is try to save some gems. We've already let Holly Blue convince us to turn on two of our own." she said, the gems looking away in shame at the memory of Jet and B9.
"Let's…not make that mistake twice." Skinny said, looking out the window just in time to see Gold Pearl approaching the ship, a broad smile on her face.
"Okay?"
The Famethyst exchanged a look before nodding in agreement and starting to do a last-minute runthrough of the plan to ensure it would go as smoothly as possible, Skinny making her way of the ship to greet Gold Pearl.
"Aah, Welcome." Gold Pearl said, bowing lowly before raising her head, scanning the area. "And…where is your leader?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.
Skinny felt her heart skip a beat. "Aah…about that." she said, forcing a smile and rubbing her neck sheepishly. "There was a bit of an…incident. She is currently reforming in her bubble. I'm sure she would send her kindest regards if she were-"
"That won't be necessary." Gold Pearl said, holding up her hand as a corner of her mouth twitched. "Retrieve her gem and give it to me. My Diamonds request everyone in attendance - even bubbled gems."
Skinny's smile faltered slightly. "In…cluding the Rose Quartz gemstones?" she asked, confusion etched in her face.
Gold Pearl nodded, her broad smile still plastered across her face. "You and your ragtag group of Amethyst guards can bring them in when you deboard the ship. The ball is just about to start, and my Diamonds are quite ecstatic."
Skinny nodded. "Of…of course." she said, forcing a smile of her own before quickly retreating back to the ship.
As soon as the door to the ship slid closed, Gold Pearl's smile faltered and her form flickered as frustration ebbed its way into her body. How long had these unruly Amethyst guards gone in the Zoo without a leader? Diamond's sake the humans were probably dead by now with that ragtag crew running around. If she was in charge -
Gold Pearl grimaced, pushing the thought away. It didn't matter how she would run things if she was in charge. The fact of the matter was she wasn't, and she had an order to fulfill.
This ball would go without a hitch or she would die trying.
…
"When you're done stress drawing, I would love some help vacuuming the ballroom." Yellow Pearl said over the loud sound of the vacuum.
Blue Pearl bit her lower lip as she looked up from her drawing, pushing her hair out of her eyes as she watched her yellow counterpart run the vacuum over yet another non-existent indentation on the floor. "I'll stop stress-drawing when you stop stress cleaning." she said, nonetheless relenting to make her way to stand next to Yellow, tablet still in hand.
Yellow Pearl grimaced. "Well, can you blame me? How do we know this is going to work?" she said, biting her lower lip as she turned off the vacuum and surveyed the area. The thrones were polished, floor swept and vacuumed, area dusted thoroughly…The room was fit for a diamond.
"What if we aren't able to save everybody?" the gem finally said after a moment of silence.
"We won't." Blue Pearl said simply, putting a hand on her companion's shoulder. "But we can save as many people as we can. We may not be able to completely stop the Diamonds. But we can at least minimize as much of the damage as possible." she said, she and Yellow shifting to uncomfortable silence.
"I'm…scared." Yellow Pearl said, hugging herself as Blue Pearl bit her lower lip and looked away.
"That makes two of us." Blue Pearl muttered, looking down at her tablet when she heard its ringing of the familiar tune she and Yellow used to sing to Blue when the grief of Pink Diamond was more overbearing than usual. Humming the tune to herself, she paused when she saw its coded message. "The Amethysts from the Zoo are on the way here. They had to stop to drop off the Rose Quartz gemstones and Holly Blue Agate."
Yellow Pearl grimaced, putting the vacuum cleaner in her gem and surveying the area a final time. On any other day, she would have been proud of how thorough she and Blue Pearl had been able to set up when they hadn't put together a ball in ages.
"Looks like the Diamonds are planning on being thorough."
Blue Pearl sighed. "Unfortunately." she said before pausing. "Are…you sure you want to go through with this?" she said, looking up at her yellow counterpoint who scoffed. "It's a little late to be asking that question, don't you think?" she asked with a small snicker before rolling her eyes when Blue Pearl didn't react. "Yes, Blue. I'm sure. After thousands of years of serving Yellow Diamond, she still doesn't see me as being worth enough to serve her and wants to replace me." she said before pausing. "Now, though? I'm…" the gem bit her lower lip and looked around as if she was worried about being overheard.
"I'm starting to think maybe they aren't gems that are very worthy of being served."
…
"Thank you so much, Amethyst guards." Gold Pearl said, placing her Diamond Line on a nearby table and bowing lowly as the gems exited the Bubble Room. "Now, please. Make your way to the throne room. Blue and Yellow Pearl are putting the finishing touches on the ballroom, and My Diamonds will be arriving shortly." she said, not dropping her smile until the door slid shut behind the last of the Amethyst guards.
Turning her back to the door, a broad grin crossed her face as she turned off the light, submerging the area into darkness. Smiling to herself, the gem closed her eyes and disappeared into a cloud of smoke, a soft giggle emitting from her shadowy 10-foot tall figure.
"Yes, everything is finally falling into place." she said in a wispy, distorted voice as she floated easily to one of the Rose Quartz soldiers, addressing the bubble as if it could hear her. "Of course we'll be doing away with you at our earliest convenience. For now, though, I need to save my mission. Don't worry, though. I'll deal with you all soon enough. Or maybe the Diamonds will want to shatter you all one by one." she said, a glint in her eyes.
The shadowy figure's moment of glee was interrupted when they heard the familiar sound of the Diamond Line from below. Rolling their eyes, they pouted before returning to their pathetic Pearl form and turning on the lights.
"Greetings, Yellow Diamond. A pleasure as usual." she gushed, curtseying and smiling brightly at the gem.
"Blue, White, and I are about 10 Quads away. Have the arrangements for the ball been completed? Have any gems not arrived yet?." Yellow Diamond said, barely giving Gold Pearl enough time to greet her as she motioned the gem to drop her salute.
Gold Pearl nodded as she stood upright, her curly hair bouncing gently. "Of course, My Diamond! Everything is fit for a Diamond. In fact," the gem said, pointing the camera skywards so her Diamond could see the Rose Quartz gemstones, "I have taken the liberty of securing the Rose Quartz gemstones. I know how unruly those Amethyst guards can get, especially since apparently they have been guarding themselves since their leader fe-"
"Do not step outside your orders, Pearl." Yellow Diamond said, her eyes flashing. "You were ordered to usher in gems for the ball and do a headcount, along with take a note of which gems are unaccounted for. Anything else is a distraction. Do you understand?"
Gold Pearl did her best to hide the look of shock that flashed across her face. She hadn't expected to be praised to high heaven for completing orders or even for going above and beyond to help her Diamonds - that was her job. But to be chastised for her efforts felt like a slap in the face. Not that she would voice that, of course.
"Of course, My Diamond." she said, lowering her head and saluting her. "My apologies."
Yellow Diamond nodded, her temper cooling slightly. "Good. That will be all."
…
"That was so stupid. Do you know how much trouble we could have gotten in if she had seen us?" Hessonite said as she and Emerald made their way away from their ship and to the place the ball was to take place.
"Hessonite, Gold Pearl and the Diamonds have far bigger concerns than two gems who may or may not be in a relationship." Emerald said, rolling her eyes. Hessonite grimaced. "You didn't see the look Gold Pearl gave me that night she showed up on our front porch." she said, looking away. "Something is wrong with that gem, Em."
"Maybe so." Emerald said, placing her hand on the gem's shoulders and turning her to look at her. "But do you really think the Diamonds are going to spend time trying to dissect some petty relationship rumors when there are other far more important rumors flying around about Project-"
Hessonite clamped a hand on the green gem's mouth, pulling her behind one of the trees in a small wooded area before releasing her, an angry scowl on her face. "Are you out of your mind? Don't bring that up here. Especially not now." she said, peering around the tree and letting out a sigh of relief when she saw gems continuing to land their ships and make their way to the ball, not noticing the elites.
"Fine." Emerald said, crossing her arms. "But see, your reaction just proves my point. That one rumor is taking up far more attention than anything we have going on." she said. Hessonite snorted and rolled her eyes. "I hope you're right."
Emerald nodded. "I do too. Losing the Sun Incinerator was hard enough. I don't know if my heart can take losing my girlfriend in the same milenia." she said, she and Hessonite's cheeks darkening slightly at the use of the term "girlfriend." While they had done a lot of things associated with the term before, neither of them had actually said it until now.
"Okay. I'll go in first. Wait a few minutes before you come too, okay?" Hessonite said, returning to her cold composition as Emerald nodded. "Will do, Hess. Oh, and by the way," she said, taking the gem's hand and standing on tiptoe to kiss the gem on the cheek.
"Loosen up. Everything's going to be okay. And if it's not? I'm right here."
Hessonite nodded, her face a dark orange as she pulled away and made her way inside. Emerald was probably right.
Emerald is right. the gem thought to herself as she made her way through the doors of the building and in the direction of the ball, her heart skipping a beat when she saw Gold Pearl standing in front of the double doors where she heard the sound of music and loud chatter.
Calm down, Hessonite. This is a ball. Not a battlefield.
"Hessonite. Facet-4, Cut-9NM, correct?" Gold Pearl said, looking down at her tablet and back up at the gem.
Hessonite nodded. "Affirmative." she said, pausing as Gold Pearl tapped on her tablet for a moment. She could sense something was…off about the gem. Like, more so than usual. While her familiar fake smile was plastered on her face, there was a hint of agitation in the way her hands moved across the tablet before looking up with a smile that reached her eyes even les than usual.
"Arriving alone, I see?" the gem said, her smile becoming slightly more genuine as Hessonite nodded curtly. A lie, of course.
"Of course."
Gold Pearl nodded, stepping aside and opening the door for the gem. "Good. Now, let's just keep the rumor mill from having enough nutrients to start again, okay? If I have to get involved, it won't be a pretty sight for anyone."
A flash of hot anger crossed Hessonite's face, but the gem suppressed it with a nod as she entered the building. Had this Pearl not belonged to the Diamonds, she would have put her in her place. What was it with Pearls and her, anyway? First that stupid rogue renegade Crystal Gem, then that defective earth rock, now Gold Pearl…if she had her own Pearl she would -
"The roll call's almost done? Okay, good. Get to the ship and be ready to get out of here at the signal" the orange Jasper guard froze when they saw Hessonite looking at her with an unreadable expression, immediately clamping her mouth shut and turning in an attempt to flee.
"Oh no you don't." Hessonite said, making her way over to the gem and glaring down at her. "You Beta Amethysts are always trying to ditch your responsibilities. I may not be the leader of your crew, but I outrank you, and-"
"You won't be outranking anyone if you don't follow my lead." Hessonite looked taken aback by both being interrupted and the way the gem spoke through gritted teeth. "Look. Hessonite, was it? Thai ball is not a celebration. It's a slaughter in the making that I'm trying to save as many gems as possible from. If you're smart, you'll get out of here when the time is right." she said before turning on her heels and speed-walking further into the crowd.
"What was that about?"
Hessonite yelped with a small jump, letting out a sigh of relief when she turned and realized who had startled her. "Just some Beta Amethysts." she said simply, turning to Emerald. "They're probably going to leave. I did my part trying to stop them, and they aren't my crew, so if they get themselves in hot water with the Diamonds, that's their problem." she said, shrugging as she and Emerald started to make their way to the squadrons the Diamonds had set up for them when these balls occurred.
"They're probably just praying on the fear going around right now." Emerald said, standing in her spot with Hessonite standing next to her. "After tonight, I'm sure everything will be okay. Then we can go back to hunting those miserable Off-Colors that stole our ship."
Hessonite chuckled, looking away as a familiar twinge of heat came to her cheeks. "Yeah. I'd like that." she said, momentarily pausing to glare as the Jasper guard from earlier quickly jogged past and made her way to the other Amethyst guards in the area, most of whom were exchanging nervous glances between themselves as the noise in the room died down due to the music in the room being turned up and signaling the arrival of the Diamonds.
"Attention, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us at this magnificent ball the Diamonds have put together for all of you." Gold Pearl said, from her spot in front of the Diamonds' thrones. "As you know, their presence is a gift. Please. Be grateful and do not waste their time and energy." she said, smiling broadly and stepping to the side to allow the curtains to be pulled away for Yellow Pearl to step forward, an anxious look on her face as she stared into the crowd and cleared her throat.
"Everyone, behold. The daunting beauty and elegance that is. Yellow Diamond." she said, stepping aside and motioning to the gem, the room lapsing into silence as everyone saluted the gem as she walked down the walkway and to her seat, her Pearl at her side, eyes glued to the floor as Blue Pearl began to speak.
"Everyone, prepare yourselves emotionally," Blue Pearl said, her voice shaking slightly as she continued, "for the overpowering elegance that is Blue Diamond." she said, bowing lowly and stepping to the side to allow her Diamond to walk down the aisle, her sadness wave immediately causing every gem that she passed to wipe tears from their eyes as she sat as White Pearl stepped forward, Hessonite unable to keep a grimace at the discomfort the gem caused everyone in the room.
"To all in attendance at the Era 3 ball," the gem said with her familiar dead-eyed smile, "White Diamond has more important things to attend to." she said, Gold Pearl walking behind her as the gem glided across the aisle to the gems' confusion. "She has, however, brought a message." she said, smiling at everyone in attendance as she sat atop her Diamond's throne.
"For so long, we have yearned, craved for, and desired nothing but perfection from all of our gems. We gave you life, and as everyone knows, this life has a price." White Pearl recited. "And that price for you, is servitude. Servitude, dedication, and loyalty. Falling into place with whatever orders we give. We thought these expectations were clear, and could be easily upheld by any and all gems. But. It seems we were incorrect."
Blue and Yellow Pearl exchanged a look before looking up at their Diamonds to ensure that they were engrossed in White Pearl's speech before quickly and silently shuffling behind their thrones and into the back row of the silent gems, grateful for the rising tension in the room that distracted anyone from noticing them as White Pearl continued her speech.
"For far too long, gems have been comfortable with breaking rules, abandoning the Diamond Authority that gave them their worthless lives, running from a shattering that they know they are destined for…the amount of discretions are piling up. If we had known such horrors would arise when we made you all, we would not have ended this a long time ago. But, it seems, Pink was right. She deserves perfection. If gems had been perfect, those renegade Crystal Gems would never have even thought about stepping out of line. About protesting building a colony on Earth. About shattering a Diamond." she said, pausing for dramatic effect before continuing.
"It is such a shame that so many gems in this very room are not like the gems we have to worry about. But!" the gem clapped her hands together, a smile crossing her face as she motioned to Gold Pearl, who stepped forward with a smile. "No matter. We have a solution to this little dilemma. Everyone, this is the beginning of Era 3. A gem who can do anything and everything we order her to. The strength of a Ruby," she said, smiling and watching as Gold Pearl changed her form to the gem in question with gold skin and curly light yellow hair, gasps emitting from several gems in the room around them. "the cunning nature of a Sapphire, the loyalty of a Pearl…." she said, relishing in the shock of the gems in the room as Gold Pearl changed into each of these gem types, the only constant being her golden skin and wispy hair.
"She is truly perfect. And one day, we will have more like her. Era 3 will be perfect. Because it is what Pink deserves. It is what the Diamonds deserve." she said, grinning down at the crowd below, the white tint to her form ebbing away so she was more of a white, dusty pink.
"We? We are not." she said, her smile not leaving her face even when Gold Pearl swiftly unsheathed her weapon and poofed the gem in a swift and fluid motion, smirking when the gemstone landed at her feet. "So. Who's next?" she said, an evil glint in her eye as Blue and Yellow Diamond stood, the room immediately erupting into shrill screams of terror as Blue Diamond released her sadness wave, immediately sending several gems crumpling to the ground as Yellow started hurling hit after hit at gems, sending countless gemstones to the ground.
As soon as Pink Pearl's gemstone hit the ground, the Amethyst guards jumped to attention, running into the crowd in an attempt to pick up as many gemstones as they could as Blue and Yellow Pearl took hands and disappeared into a flash of light, a green hand slamming onto the door with one hand and whistling with another.
"Everyone! Get to the exit. There's a ship outside." she yelled, barely managing to duck out of the way of Yellow Diamond's attack that came whizzing over their head, the gem letting out an enraged yell.
"Hessonite. We need to leave NOW." Emerald yelled, finally managing to recover from her shock at the sound of her Diamond's furious yell. Turning her attention to her comrade, she felt her heart skip a beat when she saw the gem crumpled on the ground, tears running down her face from Blue Diamond's sadness wave.
"So the rumors are true." Gold Pearl said with a snicker, tapping the top of a handful of Peridot gemstones and sending it to the bubble room. "Get away from her!" Emerald snarled, rushing forward, her metal longbow meeting Gold Pearl's scythe in a loud clash, Gold Pearl's eyes lighting up brightly. "You gems get sssooooo emotional." she said, snickering as if the sounds of screaming and poofing were music to her ears.
"White was right. You are all so loyal. But to the wrong gems." she said. "Maybe if you spent less time focused on her and more time on your Diamond, you would be one of the elites my Diamond chose to work for her in the building of Era 3. Buuuttt. That's not happening." she said, shoving back and causing Emerald to fall off balance, Gold Pearl advancing on her.
Hessonite looked up, barely managing to fight off the sadness wave and grab Gold Pearl's leg, sending her off balance and to the ground, both gems gasping in surprise when the gem disappeared in a poof of black smoke.
Emerald quickly made her way to Hessonite, grabbing the gem's arm and trying to lift her to her feet.. "Get up, Hessonite. We need to go. No-" she said, letting out a cry of pain when she felt a piercing sensation in her abdomen.
"Rule one, elite." Gold Pearl said with a snicker, relishing in the fear in Hessonite's face as she regarded the shadowy, tall figure that was holding her girlfriend's gemstone.
"Don't turn your back on an opponent." And with that, Gold Pearl closed her fist, splintering the gem in a swift motion before poofing Hessonite as well.
When Gold Pearl turned her attention back to the ballroom, she let out a relieved sigh when she saw Blue and Yellow Diamond were each sitting atop their throne, Yellow Diamond patting her Blue counterpart on the shoulder in an attempt to console her. While she loved terrorizing gems with it, Gold Pearl had the distinct nature that she should keep this fact from the Diamonds.
"How many gems got away, My Diamond? I shall add their names to the list of gems that still need to be dealt with after I shatter which gems are no longer needed and which are to help with the rebuilding of Era 3." Gold Pearl said, cocking her head to the side.
Yellow Diamond sighed and rubbed her temples with one hand, still comforting Blue with the other. "Probably around fifty or so. If we're honest, considering the fact that we had spies running in our ranks, that is a pretty good turnout." she said, clenching her fist. "Blue's Pearl got away, as did mine. Fortunately most of the Amethyst guards stupidly risked their lives to run into the fray and take some of the gems we poofed," she said, motioning to the pile of Amethyst gemstones, "but I did see one of the Jasper guards get away. So, to our knowledge, that's three. But that doesn't include the bubbled gemstones, so more realistically? Somewhere in the ballpark of 50."
"White is not going to be happy about this." Blue Diamond said, rubbing her temples in irritation.
"No. She won't be." Yellow Diamond said, turning to Gold Pearl. "But. That doesn't mean this is the end. More likely than not, they went to the Crystal Gems on Earth. Gold Pearl. Sort this mess out as previously stated. Save the Peridots, Agates, and Quartz soldiers - with the exception of Rose Quartz gem types, of course. Every other gem, though? You know the drill. When that is finished, prepare yourself. " she said, offering her hand to Blue, who took it and allowed Yellow to help her up.
"Apparently we're going to meet the Crystal Gems earlier than we thought."