The next part wraps up the trial. Blue Zircon will poof, and wake up when she regenerates. The story'll go from there.
The courtroom of the Diamonds did not appear to be bounded by any roof. The darkness stretched as far as the eye could see; the room itself seemed to be a cylinder. Rose Quartz sat in a hollow recess and Blue Zircon stood upon a single white triangle.
Blue Zircon could not tell whether she had calmed down, or had emptied her reservoir of fright to the point of being unable to feel fear. Either way, she felt only slightly nauseous and afraid. She stood fidgeting, her hands twitching every so often. All she could do was wait.
She did not wait long. The three lines of the triangle glowed each a different color, one for each of the Diamonds; spotlights of that color shot out, connecting with the walls. Pale lines trisected the base upon which they stood in three. A beam of yellow blasted skywards, heralding the arrival of the Prosecutor, Yellow Zircon.
Blue Zircon glared at her. Yellow Zircon had a reputation for flattery and obsequiousness; she played to the emotions of the judges to nudge them in her favor. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn't. Blue Zircon wished to the stars that her tactics would fail, despite Blue Zircon having no real defense. Sweat popped out of her brow as she tried in vain to reign her thoughts in, to come up with a good defense. But she had not the time for that. She could only hope to pick enough scabs and point out enough technicalities to postpone the Diamonds' ruling a day. By the time the court would assemble the next day, Blue would have had a chance to thoroughly examine her dense case files.
All these thoughts passed in a flash; as soon as the Prosecuting Zircon caught sight of Blue, she quipped: "Defending a rebel? Isn't that…Treason?"
Her tone of voice chafed against Blue's frayed nerves. She snapped, not really paying attention to her words, "I was assigned to this!" Immediately after, Blue Zircon thanked the stars above that she did not mention her Diamond's name.
Neither had the chance for any verbal jousting. Ahead of the two, two lights, yellow and blue, flashed up. Yellow and Blue Pearl appeared, the former with her hands behind her back, the latter with hands before her. The lack of an overhead white floodlight, harsh voice and glaring presence of the spiky White Pearl, and removal of the courtroom roof struck Zircon as odd. Was White Diamond not going to observe?
Yellow Pearl sang out, striking a pose, "All rise for the luminous Yellow Diamond!"
Blue Pearl murmured demurely, bowing, "And the lustrous Blue Diamond."
The center of Zircon's chest, near her Gem, burned with a sudden pain at the upcoming humiliation she would have to endure.
The light of a warp flashed-Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond had arrived. As she saluted (without any embarrassing mishaps) Zircon looked up at Blue Diamond's face, but the Diamond had her forehead nestled against the other's chin. Her eyes were closed. White Diamond did not appear, nor did anything that would clue in a hidden presence.
Blue Diamond's eyes opened. She slid her temple off of Yellow Diamond's chin, and swept her gaze around the room. "Where is the accused?"
Yellow Diamond's eyes traveled down to Steven. "Is that Rose Quartz? Look at this hideous form she's taken. Forget the trial. We should shatter her just for looking like that!"
Two thoughts popped into Blue Zircon's mind. The first was that she had indeed been correct about Rose's carbon-based form. The second, more absurd thought, was that she could give the excuse of Rose Quartz reforming into a more proper form when asking for a one day postponement.
Blue Diamond said as a rejoinder, "No. I want to hear her make her case. I want to know what she thinks we're going to do with her…because I want to do something worse."
Below Zircon, Rose made a strange noise, and her throat area wobbled. Zircon's eyes flashed towards Rose, realizing that she had gulped. From the files, Rose Quartz was a fearless Quartz warrior. Zircon wondered if Rose had been good at acting. At any rate, Blue Zircon doubted playing to her Diamonds' better natures would work at all.
Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes. "Fine." She cut through the air with a hand, summoning two color coded thrones. The Diamonds sat. "Let's just get on with it, shall we?" Yellow Diamond rested one leg upon the other, slouching just a bit in her throne. Her chin rested on her palm. Obviously, she didn't care that much about this Trial. Blue Diamond sat in her chair, arms rested on the throne, actively paying attention. The two Pearls took up their stations, and began to record all that occurred during the Trial.
Blue Zircon quickly ran through her plan's first phase in her mind. Wait for Yellow Zircon do something she wasn't notified of. Then use that to eke out some form of postponement from the Diamonds. Blue Zircon layered her hands nervously. …Her plan was not going to work, she could feel it in her Gem…
The Prosecutor Zircon began her case, with the flattery Blue Zircon expected. "My Diamond. My brilliant, opulent, radiant, glimmering-"
Surprisingly, Yellow Diamond cut her off. "'My Diamond' will suffice, or we'll never get through this." Zircon supposed Yellow Diamond truly was impatient. Perhaps she disliked the subject matter-all the Era Ones said all the Diamonds were close.
Yellow Zircon took her interruption in stride. She immediately saluted, and continued. "Of course, My Diamond." She paused to clear her throat. "Rose Quartz committed a crime so unprecedented that one can't help but wonder, "Why"? Exhibit A." Yellow Zircon snapped a finger, and something warped onto the Prosecutor's evidence floor.
"Lars!" cried out Rose. She seemed to be very distressed. Did they know each other…?
The Lars cried out to someone unseen, "Steven, what's going on here?! Where are we?" Yellow Zircon placed a yellow air bubble around its head. This did not faze the carbon creature, for it continued looking at Rose, and calling out to the Steven, "Who are those huge giant ladies?!"
Zircon glanced from the thing to Rose. She instantly realized this creature could not have been in any of the case files. It was within only 20 years of age, and anything related to Pink Diamond or Rose Quartz needed to be thousands of years old. This must be a very recent acquaintance.
Blue Zircon pounced upon this opportunity, raising her hand in the air. "Objection, My Diamonds!" she called out, voice wavering only slightly.
The Yellow Zircon shot her a look. Yellow Diamond's frown grew a little, and Blue Diamond's eyes swiveled from Steven to her. Otherwise, neither moved. Blue Diamond said: "You may speak."
Blue Zircon had been rehearsing this speech for the past few minutes before the trial, ready to be used at any moment. She barfed up her argument on the spot, with confidence born from practice: "I object to this witness"-Blue Zircon hoped it was, in fact, a witness-"being called upon at this time. The Prosecutor's Office has not given any prior notice that this witness would be called upon to testify! Furthermore, if it will provide an expert opinion, I, the defense, need time to conduct discovery on any tests it has done or findings it has prepared."
Zircon paused only a second. She could not give a chance to the Yellow Zircon to interject. "A-as My Diamonds know, the defense has to be given advance notice of all witnesses testifying, so I can provide the accused a proper defense. Therefore, I request a one day postponement of this trial, so I can prepare for this cross-examination, scrutinize this witness's reports, if they exist, and provide a witness of our own, one who could be in a position to contradict this witness's conclusions!"
Blue Zircon let out a huff as she finished. The Yellow Zircon scoffed. Yellow Diamond said, "With all the time you consumed to say that, we could have been finished by now. Overruled."
A slight, almost nonexistent, prickle of disappointment crept up Blue Zircon's spine and legs. This was just the first phase…she would get her chance in the rebuttal phase of the Trial, she told herself.
Yellow Diamond gestured for the Yellow Zircon to continue.
Yellow Zircon saluted once more, and continued: "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted by the defense (who is suspiciously eager to defend a traitor)…This specimen shows that humans are loud, absolutely hideous creatures that serve no purpose whatsoever. What sort of Gem would turn on her own kind for this? I'll tell you what kind"-here she jabbed a finger to Rose-"a-that kind."
Rose (…also known as Steven?) cried, "Just let him go! He's got nothing to do with this!"
Blue Zircon resisted the urge to reassure her that the Diamonds would not harm the Lars. There was no point, no logical reason, in doing so. However, she had just pushed her luck, and needed to do so again in her defense. She stayed quiet, watching the Yellow Zircon make her defense.
The Prosecuting Zircon exclaimed, "There it is! The passion, the fury - that caused the diabolical Rose Quartz to...shatter her own Diamond!" The words settled in the courtroom, then Zircon continued: "But I know what you're thinking," she said as she kneeled by Steven, who looked slightly alarmed at her approach. "'This thing doesn't look like a Rose Quartz.' And for that, I'd like to call an eyewitness!"
Blue Zircon watched, dread bubbling up in her Gem, as the witness platform rose from the ground. In it stood a very angry Eyeball Ruby, the exact same as the Ruby she had picked a fight with. The Eyeball Ruby glared at her, then shifted her gaze to Rose with a growl.
Rising slightly from her sitting position, Rose cried out, "Eyeball!"
Eyeball spat, "Do not address me, war criminal!"
Rose sank down a bit, murmuring, "I'm just glad you're okay." Zircon kept her eyes focused on Eyeball, but she thought of Rose's words. For a Gem who shattered a Diamond, she was surprisingly caring.
Eyeball did not need prompting to begin with her testimony. She started immediately after snapping at Rose. Casting her hands in the air, she mimicked Rose's words: "I heard it straight from her. She said, "I'm the mighty Rose Quartz! I've got her shield and everything!" And then she threw me into space!"
Zircon kept an eye on Rose's expressions. This squashy form of hers betrayed her emotions far better than the Rebellion Rose's smiling mask. Zircon watched the expressions change through the testimony. First discomfort, then unease, shock and indignance. Rose did not seem to be angry-Eyeball was probably telling the truth. But when did this happen? And under what circumstances? Zircon did not think Rose would be foolish enough to tell an enemy soldier of her identity…Zircon quietly regretted not getting more useful information from the Ruby.
Rose yelled, "I tried to help you! I healed your gem!"
…Rose Quartz tried to heal an enemy? Zircon twisted around her wrist to relieve some of the pressure. She could only wait until her time to cross-examine came. She mentally jotted down some questions.
The Eyeball yelled back, "And who else has the ability to heal gems other than the villainous Rose Quartz?!"
The Yellow Zircon sliced off anything Eyeball would have said next, regaining the reins of the testimony. She said, "And there you have it. Rose Quartz did it and that's Rose Quartz. I rest my case."
Zircon glanced at the Diamonds' face. Yellow Diamond looked mostly apathetic and annoyed. Someone ready to make any judgement asked for. Blue Diamond's face no longer had the edge it had at the trial's beginning-she seemed to have calmed a bit. That was bad for Blue Zircon. Reluctantly, she had to admit to herself, "Oh, she's good."
Yellow Diamond proclaimed, "Well, I'm convinced. Time to execute!"
Blue Diamond instantly followed that up by saying, "Not yet. The defense still has to speak." She looked at Blue Zircon, face regaining its former hardness.
"Y-yes!" Blue Zircon croaked. "But before that, I'd like to cross-examine the witness!" The Eyeball Ruby growled at her.
"Is that really necessary?" Yellow Diamond said aloud.
"Of course it is. Begin," ordered Blue Diamond.
Blue Zircon swallowed, and turned to gaze up at the Eyeball Ruby. Ruby's arms were crossed, her left lip twitching in a snarl. She looked angry, but not quite as angry as she had been. "About your testimony, when did this occur?"
"When did this occur? …Stardate-" Eyeball Ruby began.
"This incident occurred, oh…some time ago. My witness can't quite remember when," intruded Yellow Zircon, busily investigating her sleeves.
Blue Zircon scowled. "That question was meant for the witness. Would the witness please answer next time?"
"Oh! Well, you never said that…" giggled the Yellow Zircon.
Blue Zircon quickly swiveled to her next question, already assured of her gambit's failure.
"Where did this incident occur?" Blue Zircon asked.
"Er…" the Eyeball Ruby glanced down at the Yellow Zircon, who graciously intervened. "This incident occurred near Rose Quartz of course."
Blue Zircon no longer saw a point in continuing this method of attack. She decided to try another. As the witness platform sunk back down, she turned to her Diamonds and spoke: "My Diamonds! I would like to call into question the relevance of this witness's testimony!"
Yellow Diamond lifted an eyebrow. Her face slide down her palm a little, squashing her cheek against her teeth. Blue Diamond asked, "On what grounds?"
"The accused is on trial today of the charge of shattering Pink Diamond! The issue of whether this carbon lifeform is Rose or not is not a truly important one. The accused here has been brought from Earth by a Second Era Aquamarine. Such a powerful escort and battle cruiser would not have been chosen unless it was already determined that this"-here she gestured at Steven-"was indeed Rose Quartz!
"The witness has given no testimony about the events of many thousand years ago, when Rose Quartz supposedly shattered Pink Diamond. Therefore, I request that this witness's testimony be disregarded and struck off the record." She struck a salute to Blue Diamond as she finished.
The Yellow Zircon came forward to speak, but Yellow Diamond raised her hand. "Overruled again. It's common knowledge that Rose Quartz did indeed shatter Pink Diamond. All we need to know is if that is the right creature to destroy, come judgement time."
Blue Diamond let out a breath. "…Although I must demur, I would like to get to the defense now. And that Aquamarine was not present on Earth to fetch Rose Quartz. She only chanced to meet her there, and being her back."
…Then why was that Aquamarine sent to Earth…?
Recovering from her stupefaction, Zircon stuttered, "Right! O-of course My Diamond!" She gave a nervous chuckle, then began her defense, to the snickers of Yellow Zircon. "Well, uh, before I start my very... uh, thought out defense, I'd like to remind the court that Rose Quartz did turn herself in!"
Yellow Diamond gazed down at her. Blue Zircon's multiple interruptions seemed to be angering her Diamond. She said brusquely, "The court remembers, and the court does not care."
Blue Zircon hurtled forward, "Uh, of course!" She plucked up one of her holograms, and began to talk. "Innocent! Uh, the word innocent can mean, oh-many things." What am I saying…? Zircon thought to herself. She didn't know, but she needed to get some kind of respite at any cost…
Zircon did not ramble on for long before she did indeed get her respite, though not in the form she wanted.
Rose sprang up, shouting, "I did it!"
Zircon choked on her words, dropping her holograms to the floor. "What? What?! Stop!"
Blue Diamond thundered, "No! I want to hear what she has to say." She made the appropriate gesture, and Rose's platform soared into the air, setting her at the Diamonds' height. The bubbled Lars yelled something at Rose, but Zircon could not make it out.
She couldn't believe this was happening. Rose was confessing to her guilt. Despite Rose saying as much to her in the holding cell, Zircon never dreamed this would actually happen…There was no way she would be getting anything from the Diamonds now. Rose was going to be shattered, and she would be punished.
Yellow Pearl called out, "State your name for the record, please!"
Rose answered, "I, um...I'm Rose Quartz. I'm guilty." She showed Yellow Pearl her Gem, to confirm her identity.
Zircon yelled up at Rose in vain from her position at the column base, "WAIT! No, don't say that…!"
Rose ignored her, barreling on, "Everything you guys said I did, I did. And I did it by myself. And I'm sorry. I'll accept any punishment you want to give me. Just let him go! And leave the Earth alone."
Yellow Diamond crowed, "Ha! Sounds like a solid confession to me!"
Zircon ripped at her hair with her hands. She didn't want to listen anymore.
If Yellow Diamond was convinced, Blue Diamond was not. Her face had not changed a bit. She scrutinized Rose, and asked, "How? How did you do it?"
Zircon could not see Rose's face from so far up, but she could hear her confusion.
Blue Diamond repeated, drawing closer, "How did you shatter Pink Diamond?"
After a pause, Rose spoke. "...well. I did it on Earth, in front of Pink Diamond's palanquin. I was probably like, "Stop!" and she was all like "No!" So we fought-I think. And she probably did some cool moves"-Blue Zircon whacked her head against the column-"I probably did some cool moves too, some jump kicks and stuff. But I was most likely deeply conflicted about deciding to shatter her. Definitely crying. I probably had to use the Breaking Point to do it." Zircon knew rambling when she heard it, and Rose was definitely rambling.
Blue Diamond did not find Rose convincing, either. She cried out, "It was a sword!"
The Diamond broke down in front of Rose, shielding her head in her hands. A curtain of deep blue suffused the entire room. Sadness poured forth from the Diamond, and Blue Zircon cried. Something devastating had just happened. Something that Blue Zircon's could cope with. She had to cry, to let all those tears out. Resting a hand against Rose's column, Blue Zircon pressed her hand to her face, wiping away the tears from her face.
Debilitating as the sadness wave was, Zircon managed to recover her composure when the blue wave retreated into its source of origin-Blue Diamond. "You shattered her…with a sword." Crying, Blue Diamond sank back into her throne. Yellow Diamond came at once to Blue's aid, a hand on her shoulder. She reprimanded Rose sharply, in the sweetest words Zircon had ever heard spoken in this case: "That's quite enough testimony from you! We shall take a short recess."
The recess would only last an hour, but Zircon was confident it was long enough to draft a winning argument. First, she would have to confront Rose's bewildering behavior. The second the two re-entered Rose's holding cell, Zircon scolded Rose.
"What are you saying in there?! "Maybe" this, "probably" that! Oh, what do you mean, probably?!" Zircon took out her anger on the small creature, not bothering to keep her composure.
For her part, Rose seemed to be subdued. "Look I just...I don't actually know how it happened, okay?"
Zircon snapped, "You don't know?" This was starting to become ridiculous. Seizing her shirt, Zircon hoisted Rose into the air, at eye level. "Don't tumble my rocks! Both our gems are on the line! Did you do this or didn't you?"
"It was me, all right?!" Rose exclaimed. Zircon let go, and Rose fell to the floor. "Rose Quartz did it, and I've got her gem, so I'm the one who's got to pay for this!"
Zircon stayed quite for only a second. "So…You don't know how it happened."
Rose shook her head. Zircon summoned a hologram, and gazed at it, before speaking again, choosing her words carefully. "I get it. There's a reason they want you to explain how you did it."
Rose tilted her head, and gazed at Zircon with renewed attention.
Zircon finally understood why Blue Diamond wanted the defending Zircon to investigate the case thoroughly, and in secret. She still did not know what exactly had occurred when Pink Diamond died, but she knew one thing-the official story did not make a shard of sense.
Now she only had to draw up a convincing argument of why this was so. Steven watched as Zircon spread out her case files, combing the text for the truth.