Missing Peace: Chapter 35
Rose's Saga, Part 5
For the second time in her life, there was no sound; no light; no thought. This time though, it was different. There was no smell of earth around her; no soft touch of the dirt against her facets. There was nothing. She was floating in an empty void; there wasn't even any gravity here with which she could orient herself, or to pull her down to feel the floor against her gem. She drifted in this sensationless sleep for an indeterminate time; it could have been moments; it could have been millennia, but somehow, even in her unconscious state, something told her it was the latter.
And then it ended. The sensation of weightlessness was what disappeared first, and she fell for an instant before being supported by a surface underneath her. Her sense of touch returned a nanosecond later. The surface that she was sat on felt soft and warm against her crystalline edges; not like the dirt; even softer, and… moving slightly. A hand. The hand lowered her onto a harder, cooler surface, and she felt her strength return to her. She felt the protrusions of light-flesh expand outwards from her gem, reaching to touch the floor underneath her. As her sensory organs formed, she took in the dull pink light through her closed eyelids, and began to notice the low electronic hum that played in the air around her. Her form completed itself within a matter of seconds, and Rose Quartz was whole again.
Homeworld, Era 3:
Regaining control of her muscles, she opened her eyes, and looked up. The room she was in was pink, with smooth walls and a ceiling so high that the walls vanished into darkness before she could see the top. Hanging in the air were hundreds of bubbles, each one holding a gem just like hers. Perhaps the most attention-grabbing thing though, was the sight of the two gargantuan figures standing over her. Stood hand-in-hand, looking down at her with sheepish expressions, were Blue and Yellow Diamond.
Rose started back at the sight of the two Diamonds. Had they come to exact some sort of punishment on her and her fellow Rose Quartz? Was bubbling them not enough? The longer she stared though, the more apparent it became that the Diamonds weren't advancing on her. Indeed, Blue and Yellow were doing nothing, save for shooting each other a nervous glance. After a period of tense silence, Yellow finally spoke:
"Err… hello there… Quartz. There are some things you deserve to know."
After explaining to Rose how much time had passed, and assuring her that she wasn't in any danger, the Diamonds set about unbubbling all the other Rose Quartz in the room, one or two at a time, and giving them the same assurance. When the process was finally over, dozens upon dozens of the pink Quartzes stood before them in the chamber. Instinctively, many had lined up in formation, as was expected when in the presence of a Diamond. Others though, either confused or on edge, had kept to themselves. The result was a rather messy grouping that formed no particular shape. But the Diamonds didn't snap at them, or order them to stand to attention; quite the opposite in fact. Yellow told them to stand at ease, though very few of them actually relaxed.
"Well then", said Yellow, as Blue stood awkwardly beside her, "it's time we tell you all what has happened."
The Diamonds spent the next hour or so telling the group of Rose Quartz everything. They told them about Pink, and how she had fallen for the strange little planet she had been meant to colonise. They told them of the identity she had forged to live among the organics and her colonists. They told them of her efforts to protect the Earth, and, when those efforts proved to be in vain, the fight she had waged against her own family to stop the planet's destruction. As they went on, the stories somehow became even more bizarre. They told them about 'Rose' and the life she had led on Earth; and about how it had ended. They told them about Steven, the Gem-Organic hybrid who now carried her essence. Finally, they told them about the young hybrid's incredible achievements; how his actions had reshaped the entire Gem empire.
In the sea of shocked faces that followed, none were less surprised than Rose. The reactions from her fellow Quartz ranged from fear to trepidation to outright amusement. Some even looked relieved. Rose though, along with more than a few of her fellows, was seething with barely contained rage. Smart enough not to make an outburst in front of two Diamonds, she settled for ranting inside her own head:
"A lie?! All of it was a LIE?! Pink used us as a cover story to rebel against her own court, and she didn't even tell us?! And for what? A bunch of organics?! Were their lives worth the reputations of all Rose Quartz?!" Rose had more questions than her mind could comfortably articulate in one sitting, but all were linked by one overriding feeling: betrayal. Why had Pink turned against her own race, after everything her Gems had done for her? And even with that being the case, why hadn't she brought the Rose Quartz in on it? As much as Rose had been loyal to Homeworld, she had to admit that she might well have gone along with this whole 'rebellion' business if Pink had just asked her to. She never could say no to her Diamond, but evidently the fondness hadn't been mutual.
As the Rose Quartz began to chatter amongst themselves, Yellow spoke up again:
"Well, you're all free to go. You must be very curious after everything you've just learnt, so we'll leave you to get acquainted with the new status quo however you see fit. So, err… have a nice day."
As the two Diamonds turned and walked out the door, Blue turned to Yellow, a small smirk crossing her face. "Have a nice day? That's what you're ending on?" Yellow narrowed her eyes at her. "Shut up" she muttered back, before looking away. She was embarrassed by Blue's remark, but she had to admit, she did really need to work on her people skills.
Once the Diamonds left, the conversations between the Quartzes continued, each of them eager to discuss their impressions of this shocking news. Of the dozens of Rose Quartz who had heard the Diamonds' story, many were as angry as Rose was. But there were just as many who had no idea what to think, and even a few who seemed eager to experience the changed Homeworld that Yellow and Blue Diamond had described to them. As the groups went their separate ways, and headed off to explore what Homeworld had become, one thought remained in the minds of Rose and those who thought as she did: "This isn't over."
As the days passed, they quickly found that while Homeworld's society purported to be less restrictive, and more welcoming, things were still less than ideal if you happened to be a Rose Quartz. Millennia of their name being synonymous with a figure who was once thought to be the greatest criminal in Gem history hadn't done wonders for their reputation. Even now that the populace knew the truth about Pink Diamond, none of them had seen a real Rose Quartz before, and weren't particularly good at hiding the fact that they found the new arrivals intimidating. For many, the name 'Rose Quartz' had become little more than a myth. Some of the populace had believed that the Crystal Gems' leader was some sort of organic beast native to Earth, while others thought she was an aberration born from a vein of hyper-defective Quartz. There were even those who believed that Rose Quartz had never existed at all. Rose and her fellows did not know why none of the surviving Era 1 Gems had made any effort to disabuse the Era 2's of this notion, but they imagined that the Diamond's had done their best to cover the whole mess up, until this 'Steven' had forced the knowledge into the open.
Rose met frequently with any other Rose Quartz who felt, as she did, that some retribution was required. She was gratified to find that many of them were old friends who had emerged alongside her as part of Facet 31. Under her leadership, they began planning in secret to affect a return to the old ways, before the organics that Pink had betrayed them for could have any further effect on Homeworld. They christened their movement in honour of their old Facet, and willingly welcomed into their ranks even those Rose Quartz who had been born from other Facets; as many as they could bring round to their way of thinking. As the organisation grew in the shadows, they even began recruiting other types of Gem. It seemed that Gems from all walks of life were dissatisfied by this new regime. Eking out an existence in the labyrinth of passages that lay below the surface of Homeworld, they began to assemble a fleet of ships, comprised of vessels belonging to their new recruits, as well as any old Era 1 ships that had fallen into disuse, and wouldn't be noticed if taken.
It was from these underground caverns that they began constructing their master plan; one that would make the organics suffer for stealing their Diamond's heart; one that would show Homeworld that this new era could not last. And, Rose mused exclusively to herself, one that would force her backstabbing Diamond to watch as everything she had built was destroyed.
Present day:
Rose sat in the command chair of the human zoo, her head resting lazily on her fist as she stared out via the main viewscreen into the inky void of space. Staring in the vague direction of Earth, though the planet was completely invisible from this distance, she liked to pretend she was staring right into Pink's eyes, daring her to try to stop them. As she wallowed in her malice, her right-hand Quartz approached her from over her shoulder.
"Rose, I've just received the technical reports from our head Peridot. Modifications to the zoo station are 98% complete. Test fire should be available in a matter of hours."
"Excellent" replied Rose, smiling now as she continued to stare out into space. "Pass on my congratulations on a job well done." Her right-hand nodded and marched away. Rose stood up from her chair and walked up to the viewscreen; lifting one hand in the position where she pictured Earth would be, and closing her fist around the imaginary planet.
A matter of hours… Just a little more waiting and this would all be over…
Author's Notes: Well then, here we are. That's the story of how Rose Quartz and Facet 31 came to be. I hope this added a new dimension to her for you. The main story will
resume next chapter. See you then!