Missing Peace: Chapter 32
Rose's Saga, Part 2
Crystal System Colony Earth, approx. 5800 years ago:
Rose walked happily through one of Pink Diamond's many facilities. In the roughly 200 years since she had emerged, she had overseen the transformation of the few kindergartens and outposts into a Gem complex that had facilities all over the planet. Today, she was overseeing the construction of a spire by a group of Pink's Bismuths. The work had been going smoothly, and thus far there had been no attempts by the indigenous life forms to obstruct their work. Not that the indigenous life on Earth was much of a threat.
The supposedly dominant species there was a race of primitives called 'humans'. Rose had got a good look at them over the course of her duties, most notably when she had been serving as part of Pink's guard at the opening of the Diamond's new zoo. For some reason, Pink had expressed an interest in preserving some of the bizarre creatures. Externally, they generally resembled Gems. Some of them looked similar in shape to an Emerald, while others looked more like Rutiles. Rose didn't know why they seemed to be split into two categories like that; but then she didn't give them much thought at all, unless a tribe of them took umbrage with a Gem facility and decided to stage a poorly advised attack on it.
If she were being honest, Rose knew that her presence at the spire wasn't really necessary. She had fought humans before, and she knew how little threat they posed. They may have looked a bit like Gems, but inside, they were soft and squishy, supported by a framework of brittle structures that broke with almost no effort on her part. The Bismuths here could easily fend off an attack themselves, and normally, they would have been left to do just that. Today, however, was the day Pink Diamond would be receiving a tour of the spire site, and so the Rose Quartzes had been laid on as extra security. When it came to a Diamond's safety, only the royal guard would suffice.
As the time of Pink's arrival drew near, a few of Rose's fellow Quartzes joined her at the base of the spire. They were to receive Pink Diamond there, and escort her around the facility. As Rose and the others lined up, they shot each other excited glances. They got to see their Diamond a lot more often than most Gems did, but they still missed her when she was not around. This was not simply because of their inbuilt adoration for her either. In the two centuries they'd known Pink, she had proved to be a joy to be around; always brightening up the mood with jokes or pleasant conversation.
At first, Rose had felt awkward about having this sort of casual interaction with her Diamond; how could she even properly converse with a perfect life form? But after a while, she and the rest of the Rose Quartz had loosened up slightly around Pink, and their time with her had been filled with fun and laughter ever since. Well, most of the time at least. Every once in a while, at seemingly innocuous moments, like when she was being shown around one of her construction sites or receiving a report on Gem production, Pink would have these moments where she looked…wistful somehow. She would very quickly snap back into her cheerful persona though, and even with their greater familiarity with her, the Rose Quartz never had any desire to press her on the matter. Anything their Diamond hadn't decided to share with them wasn't theirs to know.
The line of Rose Quartz waited expectantly for Pink's arrival, but as the time scheduled for her tour drew near, there was no sign of her. They were beginning to wonder if they should make some sort of enquiry on the Diamond Line when they heard a commotion coming from the other side of the spire. Anticipating an intrusion by a group of humans, the Quartz soldiers rushed to the scene, only to find that the previous commotion had given way to hushed tension. Every Bismuth on the site was staring up at a hole which had just been blown in the spire. Once the smoke cleared, Rose's eyes opened wide in shock. Standing amongst the shattered metal were a Pearl… and a Rose Quartz.
The Pearl looked slightly familiar, but then all Pearls looked the same as far as Rose was concerned. Of much greater concern to her was this new Rose Quartz. Rose couldn't remember seeing this particular Quartz before, so it was likely that she had come from another facet. But what facet in the world would have uniforms like that? The Quartz was clad not in the dark pink jumpsuit which typified Pink Diamond's court, but in a flowing white gown which looked wholly impractical for combat. More to the point: what was another Rose Quartz even doing here? Why did she have a Pearl? And why were they currently standing at the site of an explosion?
Before Rose could continue her internal barrage of questions, the Rose Quartz in the gown stepped forward, and shouted in a voice that could be heard throughout the spire complex:
"Fellow Gems! You do not need to do the Diamonds' bidding! There is a better way, one that does not end in the destruction of this beautiful planet! Join us, and we will show you freedom and wonder the likes of which you have never seen! But resist us, and know that we will stop you from harming this Earth. This spire will not be completed."
Her Pearl stepped in front of her as she spoke, facing the crowd below, and the two Gems finished the speech in unison:
"We. Are the Crystal. Gems!"
Rose stood, frozen in shock. This new Rose Quartz was…a traitor?! Her body was locked in place, but her mind was running at light speed. "How?" she asked herself over and over again. "How could one of our kind do this? We're supposed to be Pink's most loyal soldiers. How could she turn against her Diamond?"
The other Gems around her were quicker to react. Her fellow Quartzes pulled out their weapons; an array of translucent pink swords, axes, and maces, and charged at the traitor. Many of the Bismuths did the same; their hands shapeshifting into hammers or pickaxes. The traitor and her Pearl gave each other an earnest look, before diving from their perch into the throng of Gems. As they dived, the traitor summoned her own weapon: a circular pink shield. One of the Bismuth's smirked at the sight of it.
"A shield? If that's all you got traitor, this'll be rrrreeeaaalll easy."
The Bismuth charged at the traitor, only to be struck in the face as the Quartz threw the shield directly at her. It bounced right back to its owner, who then spun around to block the blows from more of her attackers. The Pearl meanwhile was demonstrating terrifying fighting prowess. She had been holding two simple-looking swords down by her sides the entire time she and the Quartz had been speaking, and she was now putting them to use. She effortlessly danced out of the way of attacks from Bismuths and Quartzes alike, as though everyone but her was moving in slow motion, and, whenever an opportunity presented itself, she lunged, poofing her targets in a single stab. It struck the attacking Gems too late why the traitorous Quartz didn't feel the need to carry anything more than a shield. In every way that mattered, the Pearl was her sword.
Rose shook herself out of her delirium. She knew that if she didn't do something, these traitors; these 'Crystal Gems', would poof all her allies, and there was no telling how much damage they could do to the spire after that. Summoning her sword, she charged into the fray. The Pearl saw her coming, and moved to intercept, but was blocked by two of Rose's fellow Quartz, intent on backing up their ally. Taking the opening they'd given her, Rose charged towards the traitor, and raised her sword.
The traitor moved her shield with surprising speed, blocking blow after blow that Rose attempted to rain down. Rose considered herself one of the best fighters in her facet, perhaps her entire kindergarten, but she'd never seen a Quartz move that fast. Incensed, she twirled around, swinging her sword with as much force as she could. The blow finally knocked the shield from the traitor's hand, but the Quartz didn't falter, leaping away from Rose's follow-up attack.
As the traitor summoned a new shield, she looked Rose directly in the eye. "We don't have to fight you know. I'm only trying to set you free."
Rose snarled. How dare this traitor claim to know what was best for her? Her acts spat on the reputation of all Rose Quartz, and worse, the reputation of their Diamond. "Silence, traitor" Rose replied, finally calming down enough to form words. "You betrayed your Diamond, and for that, you're going to pay."
She charged again, dodging a spinning shield as the traitor sent it her way. She hoped that this might give her an opening, but the traitor had already summoned another before she even got close. The two traded blows frantically; Rose attacking with such ferocity that, even though her attacks were all blocked, she was managing to push the traitor back towards the wall of the spire. As they reached the wall, Rose lunged, but as she did, she saw the tiniest fraction of a smile form on the traitor's face. Her gown billowing in the wind, the traitor flipped over Rose's head, and struck her in the back with a well-placed blow from her shield. Rose spun round to face her, but was sent reeling by a roundhouse kick to the face.
Some of the Gems around them had stopped fighting, and were just watching the brawl unfolding in front of them. Most were watching on in confusion, or horror, but one Bismuth seemed to be watching in sheer awe; her eyes fixed on the traitor. Rose growled, and spun into a flaming wheel. It was an attack all Quartz soldiers knew from the moment they emerged, so she wasn't going to catch her opponent off guard, but the attack was almost impossible to stop if the Quartz behind it was powerful enough. She rolled towards the traitor at dizzying speed, but her target made no attempt to dodge. She simply raised her arm, and projected a shield twice the size of the previous ones. It held Rose at bay seemingly effortlessly. Though she was still spinning at high speed, she was getting no forward momentum; the traitor wasn't even budging.
Rose was stunned. How could there be a Quartz stronger than she was? She didn't get long to ponder this, as the traitor reached around the shield, grabbed her from the side, and threw her still-flaming form into the wall high up on the spire. As Rose crumpled away from the wall, the traitor jumped up to meet het her, hovering for an instant just above her. Their eyes met, and, in one last surprise, Rose saw not smugness in her enemy's face; but resignation. The traitor flipped forwards in the air, and kicked Rose directly downwards. Rose fell for almost the entire height of the spire, and crashed into the metal floor with a deafening boom.
Still not poofed, she struggled to her feet, but her body was barely answering her. Looking around, she saw that the Pearl had poofed the majority of the Bismuths… and most of her fellow Quartz. The traitor floated down to land beside her Pearl. As Rose limped towards the two Crystal Gems, the warp pad at the base of the spire lit up. A sea of Amethysts and Jaspers poured out from it and a look of panic spread across the traitor's face.
"Pearl, time to go" she said, summoning a massive shield, and lobbing it at the spire with such force that it sliced the massive structure in two on a diagonal. The top half of the spire slid away from the bottom, and began to topple. As the Quartzes and remaining Bismuths ran for cover, the traitor and her Pearl leapt into the distance, leaving a trail of petals in their wake. A single Bismuth ran after them, presumably giving chase. Rose tried to follow also, but her legs gave out underneath her, and she fell to her knees.
One of her kind had betrayed their Diamond, and she hadn't even been able to stop it. She'd lost.