Steven didn't know how long they ran; it was hard to judge time when exertion didn't seem to affect him anymore. They ran until his limbs fell numb, not with exhaustion, but with something far worse; something that coiled like dread about his gem and pooled in his throat, tight and sickening. If the amethyst with him hadn't tugged him to a stop, he might've kept running forever.
But he didn't.
The pair ducked into an alcove, lost in some nondescript green hall; they hadn't passed another gem in ages. Steven sank to the floor, wrapping his arms around his waist. He felt… bad. Really, really bad. But he was fine, wasn't he? Yellow hadn't hurt him… yet. Stars, had he really just done that? Defied Yellow? She was going to kill him! Again!
Steven groaned, flinching when something- oh, right, the amethyst- crouched down in front of him. He blinked rapidly. "I… You don't magically have a ship that can get us off Homeworld, do you?" He laughed, more hysterical than he had any right to sound.
The amethyst shook her head haltingly, leveling him an oddly cautious stare.
"Of course you don't. That would be too easy," Steven spat, bitterness welling with him. The gem tensed, and he cringed. He didn't have any right to take this out on her.
"Sorry," Steven muttered, looking down. "I- I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."
"My… Diamond?" the amethyst queried, confused.
"I should've done better. If I'd have just thought for a second, I know I could've talked her out of hurting you! I shouldn't've have gotten so upset, so… Ugh! Now you're a fugitive, and it's all because of me!"
The amethyst blinked at him. "What- Are… you okay?" She paused, and then the both of them were gazing at each other, surprised. "You… are Pink Diamond, right?"
Stars, if that wasn't a loaded question. "That's- more or less." He gave a slight shrug, as if that would clarify things.
The amethyst wavered. "Uh…" She offered a tentative diamond salute. "My… Diamond… Thanks, for having my back. I've never- I mean, no one's ever…" She shut her mouth abruptly, cheeks and hands glowing a slightly brighter purple as she seemed to realize just how unprecedented their situation was. "It's truly an honor to- uh-"
"You don't have to thank me," Steven interrupted, sparing her from continuing her mess of a sentiment. "Anyone would've done the same." Except they didn't, Steven's mind reminded him, unhelpfully.
"No, they wouldn't-!" the amethyst protested, unknowingly agreeing with Steven's inner thoughts, before she stiffened. "Never mind- of course- you're right, My Diamond."
Steven pressed his palms into his eyes, taking a shuddering breath. "Please don't call me that," he asked, sounding whinier than he'd meant to. He needed to get a handle on his emotions, fast.
A taut silence ensued. He could practically- no, he really did feel the tension emanating from the gem before him. He sighed, adding, "It's not your fault; you didn't do anything wrong. It's just- my name is Steven, not Pink Diamond."
Another pause. "Steven," the amethyst stated dubiously.
Steven uncovered his eyes, finding his impromptu partner-in-crime hunched into a crouch, one hand cupping the back of her neck as she scowled at the wall to her right, voluminous waves of hair flowing around her. "What is a Steven?" she mused, pondersome.
Steven sighed again. Might as well get the explanation over with. "Pink Diamond was my mom; she gave up her form and her gem to make me: half-gem-half-human, organic, whatever, and then I- Uh. Well, long story short, I'm not exactly half-human anymore." Not his best effort, but he really hoped he wouldn't have to elaborate further.
Purple eyes sought out his own. Steven expected judgement, maybe disgust, but instead they held a sort of shadowed curiosity, fearful with a flicker of... something keen. "Steven," she repeated, this time a statement of fact. "Thank you, My Steven."
Steven couldn't help but laugh, feeble as it was; so what if it was still a title, she'd called him, Pink-Diamond-stand-in, by his name! Typical: the first time someone calls him his name on Homeworld, and it's when he's done everything he could possibly do wrong. He shook his head, trying to clear the clouds from his thoughts. This whole situation got more ridiculous by the moment; it was all his muddled head could do to keep up.
"Wait," Steven realized, mind skipping tracks, "are you okay?" The amethyst looked away, suddenly sheepish, and Steven took a closer look at her. For all intents and purposes, she looked like any other non-Amethyst amethyst; tall, broad, purple. Her fluffy mane of hair reached her mid-back, a dusty mauve compared to his Amethyst's pale lavender, her skin a rich lilac hue and her eyes a clear, light shade of the same. He couldn't spot her gem, but for all her normalcy she seemed… she felt off. Somehow, Steven knew there was something wrong with her, even if he couldn't see it. He… couldn't know that though, could he?
He continued more urgently, "It's okay if you're not- you know, perfect. I'm not either." He fiddled with the hem of his shirt, deliberating, but at the amethyst's continued despondency he lifted his shirt, revealing his gem along with his glaring flaw.
The amethyst's eyes snapped to him, wide with shock. "Did they do that to you?" she whispered. There was no question who she meant.
Steven froze, dropping his shirt. "I- it's not their fault!" His words had more bite than he'd wanted, and the amethyst flinched. "I'm sorry," Steven placated, holding out his hands. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you." The amethyst's gaze kept flashing to his navel, even reconcealed as it was, and Steven tried again, keeping his voice low and soothing, "It was an accident. It doesn't hurt; you don't have to worry. I just wanted you to know you can trust me." A pause. "I can help you… but not unless tell me what's wrong."
The amethyst shifted, looking away. She still didn't seem eager to talk. He didn't blame her.
Steven tried something else. "What's your name? Or- designation, or whatever you guys get on Homeworld." He gave her a small, almost-genuine smile. "You already know I'm Steven."
"Amethyst Facet-2 Cut-185FC," she recited, dutiful in a habitual way. She glanced back to Steven searchingly, almost as if looking for approval.
"Huh," Steven huffed. "That's a bit... long. How about…" He spared a moment for thought. "How about I call you Amy! If that's okay?"
"As you wish, My- Steven." She caught herself before she could call him Diamond, for which Steven was grateful.
Steven frowned. "If you don't like it, I can call you something else. I just… I thought maybe we should get to know each other better. Maybe you'd be more comfortable?"
The amethyst- Amy, gave him another one of those intensely skeptical looks. "Why would you want to know me?"
Steven was taken aback, even though he really should've expected this. "Look…" he clarified, "just because of what I am… it doesn't mean I want to be a diamond. You- your opinions- they matter just as much as mine do. So if you're hurting or something, just tell me, okay? I really do want to help."
The skepticism grew, then waned as Amy stared, eyes narrowed. "You- you're not lying."
Steven shook his head. "Of course not." He smiled, wry, "I wouldn't have yelled at Yellow if I didn't actually want to help you."
Amy opened her mouth, sucked in a breath, then nodded. "Fair point," she conceded. "You can call me whatever you want; some of the others call me- some things, but I don't really like that." She grimaced, then nodded to herself again. "Amy is better."
"So…" Steven pressed, "will you tell me what's wrong, now?"
Amy huffed, a hint of a laugh. "You're not going to give up, huh, little diamond." Her hand crept up behind her neck again, and whatever phantom of mirth she'd held disappeared. "There's nothing you can do to help me."
"You don't know that," Steven objected. "I can heal, you know."
Amy's eyes dropped to his navel, then away, trying to hide her glance. She made an awkward sound in her throat, entirely giving her thoughts away.
"That's different," Steven said, flat. "My gem isn't the problem; something else is. If yours is cracked I can fix it. Promise."
Amy looked back at him, indecisive. He could practically see her thoughts whirring behind her eyes. Finally, she stretched her neck to either side, flipped up her hair, then leaned forward, presenting the back of her neck - and gem, placed just at the base of her skull - to him. "Whatever," she relented. "You do what you gotta do."
At first glance, nothing seemed wrong. On second, everything did. It was obvious that the amethyst's gem was cracked, but not like Amethyst on Earth had been. No, this crack was far more subtle, barely a hairline fracture that followed the lines of her hexagonal facet… and yet, the plane the crack surrounded seemed to have been pushed out, jutting barely a millimeter above the rest, but seeming so, so very wrong to Steven's eyes. He couldn't withhold a shudder. How had she been keeping herself together all this time, damaged like this? Why hadn't anyone helped her? He leaned in closer.
"How long has-"
"Thirty-four cycles," Amy answered quickly, stressed. "Would you just get it over with already?"
"'Course. Sorry." Steven licked his fingers, smoothing them gingerly over the crack in the gem; it sealed together almost instantly. Amy, seeming to sense the repair, shot up, frantically brushing her hair back into place to conceal her gem.
"Wait," Steven protested, "I should make sure everything settled back in right! It looked like one of your facets was pushed out of place-"
"It's nothing," Amy snapped, running her fingertips searchingly over her gem. "Just forget about it."
Steven fell silent for a moment, trying to piece together the puzzle before him. Why was she so defensive? So… oh. Of course. "You're off-color, aren't you?" he asked, gentle.
Amy froze, sheer terror on her face. It was the same look she'd given Yellow. "Please," she whispered, "please don't shatter me." She gripped the back of her neck - her gem - tightly, protectively.
"No- no! I wouldn't- Never!" Steven took a breath. "I'm not going to hurt you, and I'm not going to let anyone else hurt you either, okay?"
Amy clenched her unoccupied fist, looking down as if the floor held the answers to her questions. She chose silence.
"Did someone do this to you?" Steven asked. How else would she have gotten a crack, when her gem was in such a hidden place? He lowered his voice, hushed despite their solitude, "Did someone find out?"
"No." She stood, then leant against the wall, deliberately avoiding Steven's gaze. She crossed her arms, looking for all the world like any perfectly average Homeworld amethyst, casual and aloof. She glanced back to Steven a moment, shifted uncomfortably, and remarked, reluctantly, "I… I tried to fix it."
"You- your gem?" Steven whispered, horrified. Surely, she didn't mean…
Amy nodded, curt. "I thought, if I could just make it right, I could stop being so scared…" She shook her head. "I was stupid. And this," she gestured vaguely, "is what I get for not accepting how good I had it."
"It's not your fault," Steven said, rewarded with another slight glance. "Sometimes… bad things happen. And you can't fix them no matter how hard you try, so you just have to live with them, you know?" She looked over again. "And sometimes those bad things can come together to make something good. Like me meeting you." He offered a smile.
Amy shook her head, but he could see her mouth turn up. She shrugged. "Never thought I'd meet a cracked diamond, either." She breathed in, then out, and a portion of the weight she carried left her. "So, what's the plan, your Brilliance?" The title was said with such dryness that Steven had to bite back a snicker.
"Ah, to tell you the truth, I didn't really think we'd get past the whole running-away bit," Steven admitted, shrugging awkwardly.
Amy laced her hands behind her neck, looking up. "Hmph. Guess that's a start; it's worked well enough so far."
Steven abruptly realized he had no idea where they were. It would've been one thing to get lost in Blue's or Yellow's fortresses, where the wall color could guide him in the right direction (whatever right was, when everything was wrong), but the walls here were green. Though, as much as being lost filled Steven with trepidation, knowing he'd covered enough distance that he was out of the Diamonds' direct domains was a relief; it would definitely take them a while to find them here.
"Hey, uh, Amy?" Steven queried, and said amethyst responded with an affirmative grunt. "Do you know where we are?"
A disbelieving snort answered him. "I thought you diamonds were supposed to know everything?"
Steven rolled his eyes. "If only. The diamonds can't even get it through their gems that I'm not my mom," he sighed.
Amy looked over, as if to question, then shook her head, deeming whatever it was unimportant to verbalize. "We're over by the research division. These halls are mostly used for transport these days; no one will come looking for me here."
"Oh," Steven said, relieved. At least someone knew where they were. "Do you know a lot about Homeworld?"
Amy shrugged noncommittally. "You learn a thing or two after seventeen-thousand years."
Steven gaped. Amy caught his stare and pulled a discomforted face.
"What?" she asked.
"You're so old! You're even older than Pearl!" Steven said excitedly.
Amy frowned. "What pearl?" She looked around, as if Pearl would materialize out of the air, then added, "You're older than me."
Steven shook his head. "I told you, when my mom gave up her form to make me, I didn't get any of her memories. I'm only fourteen." He realized he didn't know how Homeworld told time, so he added, "Earth years."
Amy blinked. "Fourteen… thousand?" she queried, confused.
Steven shook his head again. "Just fourteen."
Amy made a sort of strangled noise; her eyes grew wide. "What?!" exclaimed, making Steven flinch.
"What?" he echoed back, startled.
"You- you're fourteen?" Amy cried, incredulous. "Fourteen years?" She let out a heavy breath, leaning heavily against the wall and hiding her face in her hands. "So new…" It seemed like she was having some kind of crisis.
"Is something wrong?" Steven asked, concerned. "Is- is that bad?"
Amy gave him a doleful look, face still half-hidden behind her fingers. "You really don't know anything, do you?"
It was a fact Steven was coming to realize more and more. He laughed awkwardly. "Guess not…" He offered Amy a tepid smile.
Amy shook her head, taking a deep breath as she seemed to come out of whatever shock she'd been experiencing. "Right," she said, more to herself than Steven. "Right. Okay." She ran her hand over the back of her neck, touching her gem as if to reassure herself it was still there. "Any other surprises you want to get off your gem?"
"Uh…" Steven bit his lip.
"Never mind," Amy sighed, before he could even begin to hash out what might be surprising to a Homeworld gem, "I don't want to know." She made a fist, tapping it against her leg as she thought. "We can't stay here forever; eventually a patrol will come through." She shook her head. "If it was just me I could try to talk my way onto a cargo ship, but with you… Well, you're not exactly unrecognizable."
Steven slouched, not for the first time cursing his incessant pinkness. "Yeah, you're right about that." He sighed. "I wish I'd asked Lars more about how he got the off-colors out of here…"
Amy perked up, suddenly interested. "Lars? As in the human, Lars?"
"Yeah? Do you know him?" Steven asked.
Amy chuckled. "Half of Homeworld has heard of the organic that stole Emerald's prize ship. After escaping with Rose Quartz from the Diamonds' trial." She smirked. "That loud-mouthed Ruby must've personally told everyone in the Yellow court twice over." She laughed again, then furrowed her brow. "Wait… if you- uh, Pink Diamond- wasn't shattered, then…?"
Steven let out a huff of breath. "It's a long story. Mom- Pink Diamond apparently decided that the best way to save Earth from… herself… was to fake her own shattering." At Amy's blank look, he stated, "Pink Diamond was Rose Quartz. Which I found out after I turned myself in for the trial."
Amy hesitated a moment, parsing. "…Right. So, you're not-Rose Quartz and not-Pink Diamond."
Steven shrugged. "Yeah, essentially."
Amy shook her head in incredulity. "And you know Lars, the space-pirate…" She took a breath, processing. "How did he escape Homeworld?"
"Well," Steven mused, "apparently gem tech isn't tuned for organics… He probably walked right through whatever security they had around the ship and just… took it."
Amy raised her brows, looking impressed. "That… could actually work." The she scowled. "But not for us."
"Yeah," Steven sighed. "I figured as much. Lars would know how to sneak gems out of Homeworld, though, since he's done it before."
Amy nodded. "But you can't contact him."
Steven shook his head. He opened his mouth to ask Amy's opinion on their next step, but paused as he heard something. Looking behind him, the faint sound of footsteps met Steven's ears. A lot of footsteps. From the look on Amy's face when he turned back, she heard them too.
"We have to go," she growled, and Steven nodded.
Amy took the lead, peeking around the corner and beckoning Steven forward as she set off down the hall, setting a brisk pace just shy of a run. The footsteps continued to grow louder, emanating from some close-connecting hall, the pair's tension growing with them. As the first foreign gem rounded the corner, barely coming into view, Amy ducked into another small byway, Steven right on her heels. She kept her stride, taking turns into green, then orange halls, backtracking every time they heard the slightest sound. She seemed to know her way around every corner and Steven was eager to follow her lead. He would've been completely lost without her.
Eventually they came to a plain, peach-colored courtyard with a simple geometric fountain at its center, Amy skirting around the outside until she came to a flat door, barely noticeable from the wall around it. She placed her palm against the side panel and it slid open, though with a swish that sounded deafening compared to the near-silence of the diamond palaces' doors. It was clear that, wherever they were, it wasn't held quite to the same standards as the more traveled parts of Homeworld.
Stepping inside the room, Steven saw stacks of geometric, crystalline chairs, tables, and other ornamental items that must've once graced the plaza outside. They looked pristine; he wondered why they were hidden away like this.
"Where are we?" he asked, absently.
The amethyst shrugged. "Somewhere in your bit of Homeworld." At Steven's confused frown she continued, "Blue Diamond forbid any alterations to the Pink Court's buildings after, uh, you know- so most gems relocated to other areas. A few stayed here to maintain the area- or maybe they just preferred it." She shrugged again. "What do I know, I'm just an amethyst. Anyway, this facet is emptier than a post-production kindergarten."
"But won't this be the first place Yellow will look?" Steven asked.
Amy pondered that a moment, tilting her head. "Maybe. I didn't see you coming up with any bright ideas, though."
Steven fidgeted awkwardly. "Yeah, sorry about that."
Amy wrinkled her nose in distaste. "You need to stop apologizing. Makes me think you're a pearl instead of a diamond. Steven. Diamond-Steven." She furrowed her brows, trying to decide the most appropriate title for Steven.
This time it was Steven's turn to pull a face. "There's nothing wrong with pearls!" As Amy prepared a no-doubt snarky reply, Steven continued, "Wait, we shouldn't argue. We need to make a plan."
"No kidding," Amy replied blandly. She leaned back against a bare spot of wall, crossing her arms and nodding Steven on.
"Right…" Steven started, chewing his lip. "Well, we need to get off Homeworld, for one. That means either a ship… or a galaxy warp. The one on Earth is broken, but it could still get us closer, right?"
Amy huffed a wry laugh. "Good luck getting near either of those looking like that."
Steven frowned, looking down at himself. "I could shapeshift. I think." He hadn't actually tried since… well.
Amy narrowed her eyes. "Sure. And you'd still be pinker than a pyrope." She sighed. "I know most of the gems on Yellow Court's security within six districts; let's just say they wouldn't be happy to see me after that stunt you pulled, let alone you, who no one this sector would pin as a diamond."
"Well, we could both shapeshift, then!"
Amy shook her head. "No one gets through without clearance. Anywhere there aren't guards there's forcefields and robonoids… Now, if you didn't want to get off-planet, maybe we could nick a shuttlecraft, but that still wouldn't get us anywhere except bombed out of the sky."
Steven winced. "Okay, well, what do you think we should do then?"
Amy looked him up and down. "You're the diamond- Steven. You tell me." She paused. "I know you're new, but where's your Court? Your pearl? Your guards? You shouldn't be in this mess in the first place, least of all over me."
Steven slumped, once again feeling the weight of his uselessness. "I don't have a Court or anything like that. Blue and Yellow barely let me out of their sight, and when they do I'm just stuck in my room until they ask for me again." He sighed. "I have friends on Earth, but… they probably think I'm dead." His throat tightened, tears threatening to form yet again.
Amy cocked her head, pondersome, as a sort of realization came over her. Steven sniffled, and she pushed off the wall, coming closer. "Look… My Steven," her voice was hushed. "You've helped me enough. You should go back to the Diamonds; I'll find my own way from here."
"What?" Steven drew back. "No, we're staying together! I'm not going to let you get killed for something that isn't your fault!"
Amy's lips thinned. "I can take care of myself."
Steven set his chin in defiance. "No. We're getting out of this. Together."
Amy scowled, snapping, "Then come up with a better plan. Unless you want to see me shattered sooner rather than later."
Steven blinked at Amy's change in demeanor. She'd been stunned - and more than a little bitter - but never angry at him, until now. He wondered what he'd done wrong. "I-"
The anger dropped from Amy's face, replaced with resignation. "Look," Amy stated firmly, brushing off his reply, "the longer we stand around, the more likely someone will find us." She gave him an intense stare. "Just tell me what you need me to do, and I'll do it."
Steven paused. "I… need to get back to Earth," he stated, hopelessly.
Amy sighed, pursing her lips in thought. "Okay." She tapped one hand's fingers against her leg, the other reaching up to rub at her gem. "You said you have gems there. What communication capabilities does your colony have?"
"Uhm," Steven blinked. "The tower was destroyed, but we were able to get Lapis' message through the wailing stone…"
Amy huffed incredulously. "That's the best you got? I'm surprised something so archaic still works."
"Well," Steven admitted, "it did take some tweaking to get the video through, but it's not like Earth is a part of Homeworld space. It's a free colony, so we just have to use what was left behind."
"Free," Amy sneered with a roll of her eyes. "Nowhere is free from the Diamond Authority." She almost sounded proud as she said it. "I'm surprised that useless hunk of rock hasn't been blown off the starmaps by now."
Steven shook his head, withholding a shudder as he remembered the terrible cluster buried within the Earth. "It's not for lack of trying, believe me…" He redirected the conversation, not wanting to pursue that thought any further, "Do you think you can get a message to Earth?"
Amy deliberated for a moment, then nodded. "I have some pull with a few Blue Court peridots. Got them out of some trouble a few millennia back- long story. I should be able to convince them to send a message," she appraised Steven, "if you really think your gems can help you."
"I…" Steven wavered, unsure of that fact himself. But no, he had to believe in the Crystal Gems. Once they knew he was still alive, here on Homeworld, they would come for him. "They will," he stated with determination.
Amy glanced him over once more, let out a breath, then nodded to the door. "Let's go, then."
She strode over, about to make her way out, before halting Steven as he followed. "Wait. You can't go out looking like that."
Steven looked down at himself, then back to Amy. "What should I look like?"
Amy huffed, throwing out a hand in exasperation. "What are you asking me for? Might as well turn yourself into a pearl if you're so keen on acting like one."
Steven bristled at the continued insult towards pearls, before shrugging, "Fine. I will, then."
He barely caught Amy's look of shock as he closed his eyes, smirking as he concentrated. To his surprise, he barely had to do more than think before he felt his body begin to shift. It was so effortless! No wonder Amethyst turned into so many things; gems had it easy. He willed himself into the shape of a pearl, not too much like any one pearl he'd seen, but enough to get the point across, then opened his eyes again, taking a look at himself.
He fiddled with his newly-formed skirt, tight around his (much-too-small) waist, brushing his fingers over the false gem in his chest. His shirt-turned-jumpsuit still covered his real gem, making the illusion quite convincing, in his opinion, even if he was still emphatically pink. He twirled around, looking back to Amy. "How do I look?" he asked. He had to withhold a laugh at Amy's face, contorted in a mix of revulsion and incredulity.
"I didn't actually mean that," Amy stated, unable to tear her eyes from him.
Steven giggled. "I dunno, I think it suits me." He swished his skirt again, quite liking the sensation of free-falling fabric.
Amy simply shook her head, turning back to the door. It opened, both of them looking around, only to find the plaza just as deserted as before. Amy led the way once again, walking slower this time, more cautious as she made her way… somewhere. Wherever the peridots in charge of Blue's communications were. Steven hoped it wasn't too far away.
Unfortunately for Steven, it was far away. He kept his eyes to the floor, trailing after Amy whenever they passed another gem (which, thankfully, was few and far between). To her credit, Amy stood tall, not even sparing a glance at anyone they passed. She knew her place on Homeworld and she filled her role perfectly, inconspicuous in her determined, martial stride. Steven wished he had half as much self-confidence as she did.
By the time the halls changed to blue, Steven was starting to feel the wear of his transformation. It nagged at the back of his mind, a weariness that tugged and stretched in his bones. He hoped he could keep up his disguise long enough for Amy to get the message through to Earth. He had to.
Eventually, at the end of yet another blue hall, Amy stopped, holding out a hand in warning.
"We're here," she half-whispered. "Follow my lead and everything will be fine." She sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than Steven.
Steven nodded and Amy started forward again, straightening her posture even more until it was almost painful to look at. They turned the corner and Steven balked momentarily, catching sight of two topaz guards. Amy, to her credit, stared past them, the picture of confidence, and Steven, as requested, followed her lead.
He thought for a moment they might pass the guards unchallenged, but a step away from the door their maces descended, interlocking to bar their way.
"State your purpose," the left topaz said, bored. She barely glanced at them.
"I am to send a message to Crystal Systems Colony 61, under orders of Nephrite Facet-126-"
The right topaz interrupted, "Just go in," with a sigh, the pair lifting their maces. The left topaz rolled her eyes, as if wishing they would hurry up and leave already.
That was easier than Steven thought it would be.
The door slid open and they entered a large room, decked from top to bottom with screens of scrolling gem glyph. Various green and blue gems dashed back and forth, holding tablets and answering calls, several perched on levitating platforms to access the upper screens. Steven took in the bustle with wide eyes, shoving down the growing knot that reminded him just how difficult holding his transformation was becoming.
A tall, gangly blue gem caught sight of the pair, breaking away from a group to approach them.
"State your business," she said, clipped. It seemed everyone here was far too busy for pleasantries.
"Private communications request via Peridot Facet-16, Cut-27L or Peridot Facet-21P4G Cut-3CX, per availability."
The gem nodded, seeming to understand the jumble of words. She tapped something onto her tablet, then stated, "Room 408 is available." With that she turned away, rejoining her previous conversation.
Amy took the lead once more, passing through another set of doors and down a long, wide hall, filled with more screens and just as many gems attending them. A variety of gems stalked down the halls, ignoring the monitors and their attendants, clearly also conducting business here. Doors were set into the walls at equal intervals, each adorned with a large blue diamond, and within that what could only be the Diamond Authority's insignia, though different to the design Steven was familiar with. Instead of a large diamond subdivided into four, a triad of triangles formed around a small, dark inner triangle, excluding Pink. Perhaps, he mused, this was the emblem created after Pink's 'shattering'. He had little time to contemplate, however, as Amy picked up a brisk pace again, several gems having to hop out of her way as she marched down the hall. Steven was beginning to think this was just her normal way of walking, if her power-stride could be called such.
A few turns and many doors later, Amy stopped, Steven stepping back to keep from bowling into her, narrowly avoiding treading on her heels. The door opened, as if expecting them, and a small room waited beyond, attended by two peridots, doubtlessly the ones Amy asked after. One, looking very similar to Peridot when she first came to Earth, looked up from her display with a broad grin. However, the other, tall and lanky even without limb enhancers, stood back, lips pursed and brow furrowed in suspicion.
"If it isn't my favorite hunk of mineral! 185FC, it's been too long!" the smiling peridot said joyfully.
"3CX," Amy grinned, "always good to see you."
3CX looked back at Steven, raising her brows in appraisal, "And you got yourself a pearl! Always knew you had it in you." She smirked, conspiratory, "What did you do, make yourself a hero again? Find yet another suspiciously-placed communicator? Maybe a miswired fuse? Put another group of nephrites to shame?" She laughed, a parody of his Peridot's, and Amy gave an answering chuckle, clearly party to some inside joke.
The other peridot cleared her throat, loudly. Once eyes were on her she said, snide, "I'm surprised to see you here, traitorous lump, given that the entire Yellow Court is looking for your gem in shards."
This was clearly news to 3CX as she looked to Amy in askance, then back to the other peridot. "That's not funny, 27L! Besides, 185FC is clearly a boulder, even if she was a traitor. Which she isn't."
Even Steven had to hold back a giggle at 27L's look of sheer annoyance. She opened her mouth to say something undoubtedly nasty when Amy jumped in, after taking a glance back to make sure the door was closed.
"No, it's true." 3CX blinked in shock. "There was an… incident." Amy grimaced, but continued, "Yellow Diamond was displeased with my performance."
"Dis- What? Please tell me you're joking, because whatever rocks are rattling around in there," 3CX poked Amy's chest for emphasis, "have clearly damaged your logical thinking!"
At Amy's silence the peridot gaped wider. "You're kidding! You, the least-lumpish quartz I've ever met, managed not only to get an audience with Yellow Diamond, but to crack it up so badly she wants you shattered?" She blinked, then added, "Oh my stars, and now I'm associating with a traitorous boulder. This is not good. Why did you even come here? You know we can't do anything to help you without putting our own gems on the line."
27L cleared her throat again, effectively silencing 3CX. "Explain, craghead, before I turn you in myself."
Amy scowled, then looked back at Steven. "You should probably drop it now," she said softly. "I'm not sure how long you can stay transformed, but no matter how this goes you'll need your strength."
Steven gulped, suddenly the center of attention. He wavered a moment, before the unpleasant, nagging pull at his gem had him complying with Amy's bid to resume his normal form. Or, well, as normal as could be, given the circumstances.
This time both peridots were gaping.
"Is that-?" 3CX questioned.
"No, it can't be…" 27L said, hushed.
"This is, uh," Amy glanced back briefly, unsure, then steeled herself and pressed on, "Pink Diamond."
3CX made a horrendous choking noise, followed by a fit of coughing. 27L just stared for a moment, stunned, before saying, "I would've guessed Rose Quartz." She looked over at 3CX. "She- she does look like Rose Quartz, doesn't she? From the broadcast?"
3CX nodded, still breathless as she massaged her throat.
Amy grimaced. "That's… sort of the problem we're having here. She needs to get a message to her colony- to Earth," there was a strange sort of emphasis put on the name, "but the communications systems there are primitive at best."
"No," 27L said, wringing her hands as she began to pace. "No, no, definitely not. There's no way that that," she gestured to Steven, "is Pink Diamond. You're lying."
"She's not lying," Steven protested, and the pair of peridots froze. "I know I don't look it, but I am Pink Diamond." The words tasted of ash in his mouth, bitter and uncouth.
The peridots exchanged glances.
"Okay," 27L said, "even assuming this is Pink Diamond, which she very clearly is not, you're still a traitor. We cannot be seen aiding traitors. Especially Earth-related traitors. Earth and Pink Diamond-related traitors."
"We could do it, though. One message isn't that hard," 3CX added tentatively, silenced by a glare from 27L.
"Please," Amy said softly, and both peridots looked up, surprised. "I know it's dangerous, but we need your help- I need your help. I wouldn't ask unless I had no other choice."
3CX looked empathetic but 27L glanced away, a hardness in the set of her jaw. "Please," Amy asked again, voice coaxing, "you'll be the greatest pair of peridots in the universe."
"…Well," 27L relented, preening, "I am the greatest and most magnificent, yes. There's no way you could succeed without me."
Steven, shortly followed by 3CX, gave the other peridot puppy eyes; 27L scrunched up her face, clearly about to cave.
After a moment 27L grumbled under her breath, then turned back to them. "Fine! But never say I didn't do anything for you, you lump of undercooked clay!"
Amy laughed, walking over to give 27L a pat on the head (which she quickly ducked away from). "You're the best, greenie."
27L huffed, "If you ever call me that again I'll break you myself, 185FC."
Amy smirked, not the least bit intimidated. "Of course, 27L."