Missing Peace: Chapter 15
Facet 31 hideout, unknown location on Homeworld:
Rose Quartz, leader of Facet 31, stood in front of a large mirror, admiring her new reflection.
"How do you feel?" asked her second-in-command from behind her. She was also a Rose Quartz, though her skin was darker pink, her face slightly more rounded, and her gem on the back of her left hand.
"Like a new Gem", replied Rose with a smirk. She had had her second-in-command poof her a few hours ago, so that she could reform in an appearance better fitting her new role. She hadn't changed her body at all, but her old pink jumpsuit had now been replaced with a black version, bearing the Facet 31 insignia where the Pink Diamond symbol used to be.
Up until now, all the members of Facet 31 had retained their old uniforms, for the sake of not being discovered, but Rose felt that it was now safe to take on the mantle publicly. Her message had spread like a wildfire across Homeworld. There was every indication that a large proportion of the empire was sympathetic to their cause. They would not have to hide much longer.
Rose turned away from the mirror to look out at the Gems milling around the hideout. Making a base in one of the disused underground kindergartens which littered Homeworld had been an inspired idea. Not only was it practical, as no one ever came down here anymore, but it was also symbolic. What better place for Homeworld's rebirth to begin than where many of its inhabitants were born in the first place?
As she looked around the main chamber, she saw that some of the other senior members of Facet 31 were likewise taking in their new looks. Rose had been surprised how unfazed they had been when they were asked to poof themselves, though she realised she probably shouldn't have been. After millennia living under the Diamonds, not to mention the other… indignities many of them had been subjected to since the start of the war, being poofed didn't scare them anymore.
Yes. They were stronger now. Strong enough to punish the ones who had taken everything from them. And unlike the Diamonds or their pathetic rebel allies, they hadn't needed a bunch of organics from a tiny colony world to help them find that strength.
Rose was shaken out of her inner monologue when she noticed one Gem that stood out from the others. Not because of their Gem type or anything; while Facet 31 had a large population of Rose Quartz, it also had Gems of just about every other kind, who had been recruited in secret over the past few weeks. No, this Gem stood out because, rather than sharing the determined grins of the other members around her, she wore an extremely nervous expression.
Leaving her second in command behind, Rose walked over to the Gem, and knelt down to speak to her at her height:
"What's troubling you, Sapphire?" Rose asked mainly out of courtesy, though she thought she already had a pretty good idea. They were, after all, gearing up for a potential fight, and Sapphires were no soldiers.
The dainty blue Gem looked up at Rose in fright, evidently having been so lost in thought that she hadn't seen her approach.
"R-Rose Quartz. Nothing ma'am, I await your instructions."
Rose sighed, and smiled at her. "I'm not a Diamond, Sapphire. I don't expect, or want, blind obedience. If there's something bothering you, I'd like to help." This wasn't an entirely altruistic offer. Rose was as much concerned with making sure this Sapphire wasn't going to be a weak link as she was with allaying her fears.
Still, whatever her reasons, her response had the desired effect. Visibly relaxing, the Sapphire took a deep breath, and spoke again:
"It's just… I've grown accustomed to being able to see exactly what's going to happen… but that only works if the future remains predictable. The idea that I would turn against my Diamond-"
Rose raised her had briefly, and the Sapphire stopped speaking. "None of that, Sapphire. We did not betray our Diamonds; our Diamonds betrayed us."
"Yes, of course" said the Sapphire, before continuing. "The idea that my Diamond would betray me, and I would end up joining a group of rebels… it's so unexpected. I'm finding it hard to see anything right now."
Now Rose understood. The days ahead were going to be unpredictable for everyone. But for a Sapphire, who was used to having her whole life mapped out in front of her, it would feel like losing one's sense of touch, or hearing, or… sight.
She reached out and, as gently as her massive, muscular frame allowed her to, pulled back the Sapphire's fringe, revealing a single large Gem where her eye would otherwise have been. It was only now that Rose noticed that the Sapphire had one hand pressed against the wall, presumably to help position herself.
"I see" said Rose gently. "Your future vision was all you had, and without it you feel lost."
The Sapphire's lip quivered as she nodded, though she didn't push Rose's hand away.
"That's understandable, but you don't need to worry. I promise you that your vision of the future will become crystal clear again. You know why? Because no matter how unpredictable the future is right now, the others and I are going to make sure it turns out the way we want. And until then… we can be all the direction you need."
The Sapphire broke into a smile, and looked as though she was about to cry (or rather, would be, if she had an eye). Releasing her grip from the wall, she clasped her tiny hands around a single one of Rose's.
"Thank you Rose Quartz" she said, an emotional tremble creeping into her voice. "I think I'll be fine now."
"Glad to hear it" Rose replied. Even though she now knew that the Sapphire couldn't see her, she smiled anyway. "I've got to go finish up the preparations. We'll talk again soon." The Sapphire nodded in reply, and Rose turned and walked off to her next task.
As the Quartz walked away, Sapphire felt her mind ever so slowly begin to clear. The seemingly endless amount of futures in front of her began to dwindle in number. There were just about few enough now that she could physically see some of the details. In most of them, she and Rose stood atop the highest tower on Homeworld, surrounded by all of Facet 31; with their weapons raised in victory. In some of them, the Diamonds lay bubbled, or shattered at their feet. And in just a few, which seemed to peek out from behind the other visions, Sapphire was happily wrapped in Rose's arms…
Rose walked down one of the long passageways carved into the kindergarten, and emerged in a room crammed with consoles and monitors; stolen from the Diamonds' bases for use in surveillance. As she did, a Peridot with a Gem on her abdomen jogged over to her from one of the consoles.
"Rose Quartz, one of our agents on board an orbital roaming eye has confirmed that White Diamond's ship has entered orbit."
Rose gave a broad, wicked smirk. White Diamond had surely brought some of the Crystal Gems. And if they were here, so too was Pink Diamond. And this time, Pink was going to pay for what she'd done to her…