"A flower doesn't love you or hate you, it just exists."
Connie wanted to feel confident with both Steven and Snow by her side. But in all honesty, as Steven succumbed to pain, it worried her a little. She had her sword and he; his shield. Though the way Snow made the Lillim sound gave her minor anxiety and drenched herself in doubt. She had to be strong for him in case it happened again.
They were simply parasites, taking and taking until there was nothing left but a raw shell of ones self. She did not want to imagine him being infected at all and Connie would pull all stops to prevent that from happening.
They diverted at a fork in their path, seeing a tall pillar in the middle of a dark, grey room. Catwalks stretched to the pillar, which held two elevators, where as she peered over it, one could see only pure darkness below. There were two other pillars on each side of the the room, each with different coloured lights. White, Yellow, Blue and Pink. The catwalk did also surround the central pillar and stretched to another hexagonal door. The room had a shine to it, despite the lack of brighter lights. Peridot, Lapis and Dori went to the left elevator. The two former pulled up peace signs with their fingers after they entered and as the doors slided to a close. Connie watched as the elevator descended into the abyss. Next was Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl who went into the right elevator.
"Please be safe." Pearl pleaded to them.
Connie nodded.
"You too." Said Steven.
There was a bit of tension in the air as the three waved to them before the doors closed and they rose up. It left only the three of them standing in the silence. Connie was almost wracked with nerves, but she fought through and gave off an air of determination as they all nodded to each other in acknowledgement, moving to the doors on the other side of the room.
They both followed Snow in there, which took them into another long hallway with many plants in square shaped holes that were practically overgrown with red flowers with notable long stamens. Connie noted them as Rhododendrons. Steven was captivated by them, although Snow was wary of them for what ever reason, her eyes whisked away, like her mind been taken elsewhere.
"They're really pretty." Steven said.
"They are. But they've been left untamed for so long. I'm sure Milky wouldn't have let them overgrow like this." Snow commented.
It smelled nice, if not a bit overpowering. Oddly enough, Connie felt a chill in the air, as if an opening appeared nearby. But her ears honed in on the whispers, but they were so fast in pace and low in volume that Connie could not hear what they were saying. Neither Steven or Snow Quartz noticed as they continued onward, unabated.
There was another door at the end of this hallway. They went through it, only to see another room filled with samples and more tubes. But these...cases meant for study, held gems in them. Shattered Gems. Steven shuddered, as Connie grabbed his hand.
"I don't...why...Milky..." Snow murmured.
She went over to a nearby console and tapped away as holographic screens projected for its base.
"These are...failed experiments?"
The two kids wandered to one of the tubes that had quite a few shards in there. How traumatizing would it be to see something akin a corpse or a skeleton to a normal gem. Steven looked distraught.
"These poor gems...what happened to them?" He wondered.
The whispers returned to Connie's mind as her eyes became fixated on the shards themselves. Was it their whispers? What were they trying to say?
"The data here brings more bad news. They're early prototype gems from the Alpha Kindergarten. But this doesn't make any sense. These shards are...Snow Quartz gems? Was Milky trying to make more?" Snow stated. She filtered through more tabs.
"They had to be...destroyed due to malnutrition during formation. That's what would happen in an enclosed space like this. There's simply not enough resources to supply a bulk amount of gems in an area this size."
Destroyed due to malnutrition? Connie could only think of one human equivalent that she read about...this was just as horrifying. The whispers got louder, as well as the sound of her heartbeat. The thumps were more like somebody knocking her head repeatedly. She took a deep breath, then looked at Steven, who's eyes, to her terrifying sight, were suddenly pink, each a with diamond iris. Steven noticed her stare.
"Something wrong Connie?" He asked, like he didn't even realize what was going on. This had to be the Lillims doing. It was their way of messing with her, like just what Snow had warned them about. Connie didn't want them to worry.
"Nothing, just...looking." Connie continued, as she felt her cheeks blush. Steven blinked, then his eyes turned back to normal. It was definitely the Lilim messing with her.
Snow stopped what she was doing as she came around, checking the pair out. Steven looked okay, but...
The tall gem brought herself down to Connie's level to check on her too. Steven grew worried too. Woops.
"Are you feeling okay?" Said Steven. He was still himself at least. That's the best Connie could hope for.
Connie scrunched her eyes, taking another deep breath.
"It's..disturbing, it's like..imagine the gems seeing this. They'd be mortified...right?" Said Connie.
Snow sighed as she placed her hand on her shoulder. The whole experience would be explained through the Lillim's doing, but to feel it, was anxiety-inducing.
"Like how a human gives birth, gem production also has a lot of elements involved. Milky was looking for specific traits in a gem. It doesn't state what it was, but a prototype would indicate it was simply a test. Whether or not a consciousness existed in the gem, it had to be trial and error either way." Snow explained.
This was life they were talking about though. A thought of being born and then being determined that you're too weak or you didn't meet expectations sounded horrible.
"How do you feel about this Steven?" Connie wondered.
He may have been raised as human, but previous events had forced them to take heed in the consequences when it came to messing around with their gems. She'd wanted to talk to Steven...or she wanted Steven to tell her how it was. She was there with him and she witnessed everything. On how White Diamond drilled into him and forced him to doubt himself. They won, but that certainly had to take a mental toll on him. He did take comfort in knowing his true identity, but for the moment, his mind almost broke under the pressure of immense doubt. Especially with with how the other gems were under White's power and Steven could do nothing but bring out words to get White to see his way. It was only when words failed him and the pure luck they had when his gem defended itself, that wrought Steven with the kind of agony that came with being torn apart like that. The way White Diamond discarded his body; only caring about the gem she carried like a trophy. Connie's heart skipped a beat with the one thought she fought to deny; that he was dead. She rested her ear on his chest and noted his heart beat was low but it was there. He clung on to dear life as Connie cried for him to awaken.
"Are you alright?"
Steven looked to the floor, before looking at the shards again.
"I dunno...I just hope there was no one in there." Said Steven. His face fell at the thought.
Snow stood up as she examined the shards cautiously as she crossed her arms.
"If there was, they would have been in a lot of pain. They...were put out of their misery and saved an eternity of anguish." Said Snow.
Such creations were more like out of the horror stories she'd heard about...or the occasional horror movie Connie would see her Dad watching before he noticed that she was there and had to turn the TV off or change the channel.
It was then Connie began to suspect that Milky not have been the good gem Snow made her out to be. Snow didn't realize this yet. She was just trying to put the pieces together and to root for her innocence...or even general explanation for something so heinous and potentially illegal, if Homeworld even allowed for it.
"There are several of these rooms scattered around. Each an example of Milky's work. I know it's not actually what we're supposed to be doing, but each little bit will make a story. Come, on lets move."