As expected from a Monday night, the streets of Paris were quiet. Diamonds welcomed the empty roads and the flashing streetlights, thinking that their job would be easier with everyone gone out of the way.
"Are we going or what?"
The frustrated complaint was coming from Spades, but he paid little attention to it. He instead stared at the building that was facing them with interest, his lips curling up with amusement at the sight of the Hotel Le Grand Paris, residence of the Bourgeois family. Even though he would have absolutely loved to torment Chloé for a while, the girl was not their target tonight; the Mayor would be the only one receiving a visit from them. The prospect of bringing the man to his feet had quite grown on Diamonds, so much that he had accepted Hawkmoth's offer right away and waited for it with anticipation, even though he knew that he would have to work with the unnerving, unsatisfiable Spades.
The akuma was confident that they would not try to murder one another before the end of the day, and even if things did take a turn for the worst and Spades actually attempted to go for his throat, Diamonds was not worried. He could have killed his little brother in the blink of an eye, the only reason he hadn't done so already was because he needed him for this mission. Also, he didn't have the strength to not admit to himself that he absolutely adored tormenting him.
"Diamonds," Spades was almost growling now, standing impatiently next to him as he nervously turned a sword in his grasp. "I'm not waiting any longer. I'm going in."
The other akuma sighed, but smiled nevertheless at his fragile, weak other self whom he despised so much.
"Of course you can go in, little brother." The lie slid from his tongue with practiced ease. "You remember the plan, correct?"
"The plan doesn't matter! I could climb up to his window by using my swords and kill him in his sleep. It would be so easy that it wouldn't even be my fault!"
"That's a great idea," except that it wasn't; they weren't even there to kill him in the first place. "But you could always just follow me and do as I say, what do you think?"
Spades' mouth stretched in protest, but Diamonds did not allow himself to see his outraged reaction. He approached the building, bringing his hands to his field of vision, creating in this way a sort of frame using the fingers of both of his hands, and including the luxurious hotel between them.
Spades had stupidly suggested to sneak in into the building through a window, but he knew better: he was going to enter from the front door.
He approached the entrance with rehearsed confidence, his ringed fingers clasping the doors' golden handles in order to push them forward, letting himself in. He observed the few lights that were lit on and a sleepy-looking woman behind the reception desk, probably waiting for some important guest that had planned to get to Paris in the middle of the night. He was not noticed as he traveled through the white-marbled floor, stopping in his steps as he felt something coming up his throat. He gently opened his mouth, long fingers caressing his palate in order to collect a small, edged object.
An angry Spades grabbed him by his shoulders, turning him towards the reception desk, and gestured at the distracted hotel-employee who was now glaring around the room in bored fashion. Her eyes even crossed theirs for a moment, but she never seemed to notice the two of them.
That seemed to be what bothered Spades the most. "Why is she ignoring us? She thinks she can do that?!"
What an idiot.
"It's because I want so, little brother," his smile was poisonous as he approached her, leaving the red, shining gem which was previously in his grasp on the counter. She did not even flinch at the sound of precious stone meeting marble. "She can't see us."
"You can do that?" Spades looked confused for a moment, but then his eyebrows furrowed again, his eyes darkening in his usual anger. Diamonds figured he was jealous of his power.
But then again, who wouldn't be jealous of all the things he could do? Compared to Spades' power, his was way more entertaining and fun, not to mention useful.
"Aren't you sad?" he asked, hands clapping together, rings and bracelets clashing against one another. "Now we can get to the Mayor undisturbed!"
Spades didn't seem to be too convinced about that. "Why would I care about that? All I want to do is get to that bastard." He was still holding onto one of his silver swords, playing with the elegant, sharp hilt. "And I want to get to him fast. This is too slow, Diamonds. You're testing my patience."
He talked of patience as if he actually had any. Of course Spades would have just liked to break into the building by shattering a thousands of windows and waking the entire neighbourhood up, Diamonds had no doubt that that was probably what sounded more likeable to him; he was just that stupid.
"It's a little price to pay for a much bigger prize, little brother! The quieter we are, the more time we get to play with him," he grabbed his sibling by his hand, holding it tightly as he tried to get away from him. Saying the truth left him with an ache at the tip of his stomach, but he knew he needed to be direct with Spades if he didn't want him to blow their cover up. "And we wouldn't want anyone ruining our fun, would we?"
He guided him towards the elevator, feet barely touching the ground because of his joyful skips. Even though he was already pretty annoyed at his brother, he wouldn't let him ruin the fun that they were both going to get. They were going to put up a show, a great, magnificent show that would have had the Mayor pissing himself. He didn't care about the mission in itself or the fact that he was going to scare André, the only reason he could barely hold himself back from giggling like an idiot were the ideas of all the lies he would use on the man in order to have him at his feet.
How could he not be excited for that?
He turned towards his brother as he waited for the elevator to open its doors, and saw a similar grin spread on the familiar features. It was incredible how they managed to find happiness in different ways from the same task: for Diamonds, the lying was what he looked forward to, while Spades couldn't hold himself back from the idea of breaking something. They were different, and yet they were similar. Well, they did share a body and had co-existed with one another not so long ago, but the realisation was still surprising to him.
Did that make him mad as well? Spades and Hearts weren't normal, Diamonds knew that. They had been the ones hit the most by what had happened, and their suffering showed through their fragility, even though they both showed it in very different ways. Spades destroyed things, and Hearts broke so easily. Diamonds remembered the first time they had all seen Hearts, hysterically crying, holding his head between his hands and choking on his own screams. He had been confused at the time: his sincerity in his suffering had disgusted him, and he hadn't been able to recognise himself in his sibling. Only later he had understood that they were one and the same.
He could see a bit of his own madness in the others; his obsession with the manipulating of people and his twisting of the world, allowing him and only him to know the real truth about himself, alongside with his clouded judgement, limited field of view when it came to important decisions, and weird habits. He and his brothers all shared those traits, they were all a bit crazy. Part of him figured it was because they were incomplete, because they needed one another to stabilise themselves and find peace from their inner thoughts and obsessions, but the rest of him knew better than to lie to himself.
It hadn't been that much better when they all had been one. The thread that held them together was just as fragile.
And yet, he found himself not caring. He probably didn't have the emotions to do so, giving the fact that he was merely a fraction of a person, but still wondered what wrong there was in his own behaviour. He found happiness in lying, in being what he was not. One could tell just by looking at him right now, as he was doing by observing himself in the mirror in the luxurious elevator: his blue-shaded glasses hid soft, child-like eyes, but what really caught the eye were the precious jewels that adorned his fingers, wrists, and clothes. Shiny gems could be seen delicately decorating his blue tie and the edges of the collar of his white shirt, both disappearing underneath the similarly delicate white vest. The colour of his suit matched his tie: electric blue, the complete opposite of his brother's annoying red.
He felt happy, like he belonged where he was and in the appearance that he had been given.
He wanted to feel like this forever.
How could he feel like this forever?
The doors of the elevator suddenly opened, and he found himself getting the answer he was looking for by looking at his brother Spades. His breathing was uneven, a wild grin rapidly growing from cheek to cheek as his earrings swinged with every step he took. He watched as his other self let go of any restraint, forgetting about the previous agreement of being quiet and throwing himself down the long corridor with little elegance, and he understood.
They were free.
Diamonds almost felt like he was floating as he made his way towards his brother, the sweet sound of a door breaking down reaching his years. He proceeded slowly, but arrived at the entrance just in time to see Spades aggressively picking up their target from his collar and throw him mercilessly to the ground. The noises hadn't seemed to wake André up, and he had opened his eyes in the middle of his journey towards the carpeted floor. The sight of the frightened man amused Diamonds, his tongue tingling in anticipation.
"Moooorning, fatass!" Spades chirped, towering over the confused man, who was still on the ground, panting. His leg pressed onto the man's stomach, obtaining a loud of cry of fear from him.
"W-w-who are you?" The Mayor squirmed against his hold, pale like a sheet and sweating horribly. His face was full of horror as he whined. "Security! Someone- help! HELP! H-"
He choked as the leg that was previously on his stomach was raised to step on him. Diamonds watched as the fat man turned defensively on his side, agonising and holding his stomach with shaking hands and giving his back to his brother as he retracted in a sort of protective ball.
"STAY AWAY! PLEASE, LEAVE ME ALONE!"
The akuma simply observed him as he was brought at the verge of tears, his eyes now closed while his mouth kept blubbering pointless pleads for mercy. Unfortunately for him, Diamonds' spell was really too good for anyone to actually hear any of his cries. It was too bad that Diamonds planned in no way of letting the man know any of that; the man might have saved precious oxygen if he had known, but what fun would that be for his little brother? A victim that smartly fought back was no fun for someone like Spades: he wanted a chaotic, desperate person to torment until he felt satisfied, until the blood and sweat messed with his senses enough for him not to feel anything. It was only fair of Diamonds to stay back and watch, letting his little brother have a moment to relieve his stress after a night spent uselessly searching for who used to be his friends, and intervening only when he felt it was appropriate to do so.
Spades' kicked André's back just above his kidneys twice. The Mayor of Paris let out an undignified cry along with a cough, and pathetically attempted to shield his back from his aggressor by extending his arms where he couldn't see them. He would have just taken the beating until Spades had gotten bored or had simply stopped if he had known better, but the man had never been too clever and certainly was not thinking straight now, too focused on saving his own skin.
As Diamonds had predicted, the fact that André was trying to protect himself was unnerving for Spades, who delivered a couple of well aimed kicks to the man's back, not caring of crashing his fingers or hands with each blow. He turned the man around with the same foot that had been striking him, and looked at his victim straight in the eyes as he kicked him again, this time in his stomach.
Spades' breath was uneven, his eyes wide open in a madness that Diamonds had grown accustomed to, and that had always brought a wave of sadness - if he even could call it that, he really found it hard to name the little things he felt - with it.
Spilling someone's guts was Spades only way to stop thinking.
It was only when one of his brother's silver swords appeared in his grasp that André started wailing. Diamonds had to give him credit; it had taken quite a while for the man to start screaming like a little girl, he was surprised. Spades lifted the man up from the floor with ease, one hand around the Mayor's collar, and the other holding the dear blade.
"P-PLEASE! NO! NOOO!" His cries were ugly and uneven, sloppy sobs not allowing the man to finish a single word. His hands fought against Spades' hold; he was not choking him, only holding him into place.
Diamonds contemplated the idea of stepping in, now. He knew Spades: he had been one with him not so long ago. There were lines he did not like to cross when hurting somebody, but he was unable to control himself and respect the boundaries that he set for himself. Spades looked like he was enjoying himself possibly too much for the man's safety; that could only end in him hating himself even more than he already did, and with a bloody surprise for the cleaners the following morning. Diamonds could picture the carpeted floor changing its shade to a dark, vibrant red, adorned with an ugly corpse to complete the work of an angry, uncontrollable teenager. Stopping his brother seemed necessary, now - the Mayor was no good to them as dead.
It was in that moment that Spades' red eyes narrowed, and he looked at the man in front of him as if he was a person for the first time. Diamonds caught his jaw tensing, his brows furrowing in concern and horror as he realised that his hand was grasping an adult man's throat and not a toy. His reaction was sudden, angry: Andrè was thrown to the other side of the room in frustration, only for Spades to turn on his heels and approach his brother with a quick step.
Diamonds' raised an eyebrow at him as he saw that he was directed at the door right behind him. He caught him by the shoulder just as he was about to pass him.
"You look quite happy, little brother!" Spades tried to get his hands off him, but he didn't let him. "Everything ran smoothly, I imagine?"
Spades did not snap at his sibling like he usually would have. He instead shifted in his brother's hold, eyes traveling around the room in distress as his mouth opened and closed repeatedly, as if the words weren't coming to him.
"I couldn't…" His mouth closed again, fingers hardening their grip on his other self's arm. "I can't… I can't find anything to blame him for."
Blue eyes widened behind thick lens, but Diamonds didn't flinch. He kept his gaze on his brother, forcing him to turn towards him with a strong pull.
The akuma was doing everything in his power to avoid his brother's eyes, even as he now faced him. His usual confident stance had changed, and he now seemed insecure underneath the other's grasp, almost fragile. It almost looked like he was crumbling to pieces in Diamond's hands.
"And if I can't blame him… If it's not his fault, then am I the one to blame?" his voice had turned into a careful whisper, something that tormented Diamonds to no end for how unfitting it was of him. "I-it has to be, right? Every event has a cause, there's always someone to blame, to punish. And right now… that someone is me."
Of course Spades had to have an identity crisis while they were in the middle of threatening someone. It was in times like this that Diamonds wished he was more empathetic: if he had actually managed to understand what was going on through his brother's head, he maybe could have figured out a way to avoid making a scene and quickly get him back to his violent, normal self. Diamonds briefly threw a glance behind him, only to realise with relief that the Mayor had fainted probably out of fear or because of the strong impact. That gave them a little more time to put Spades back together.
"Say…" red eyes had stopped fleeing now, and the swordsman was staring right back at him. His shoulders had lowered, giving up on fighting Diamonds' hold. "Can you hurt me?"
Diamonds stiffened, his breath getting caught in his throat.
What?
"Punch me, throw me off a bridge, do whatever you can come up with. It would make things right again."
Something inside the heartless akuma shifted. A familiar coldness started spreading from the middle of his chest, paralysing him in a way that he didn't believe possible. He had felt like this when he had been whole, he realised. Something within him was screaming out loud for him to rebel against this self-destructive act, as if the remaining shards of his morality were reaching out to resurface from an abyss of lies and prefabricated realities. And yet, he still struggled to understand what exactly was being asked of him. How could someone who couldn't name his own emotions help another in need of emotional support?
Diamonds decided to forget about himself for a moment, and to remember them as a whole, to remember Adrien. He allowed recent and old memories to wash through him, teaching him again about his past humanity, about what it meant to be a person. Feelings traveled through his mind, and while he still couldn't quite name them yet, he found he could remember sensations he associated them with. Warmth, softness, colours… It was all so very human, and so very unreal to him. He felt them flow through him, allowing them to change him even though he found them so repulsively sincere.
It was in this way that his instincts took over, and his hands traveled gently first to Spades' neck, then to his head. He embraced him with a tenderness he didn't know he was capable of, holding him firmly and yet comfortingly against his shoulder.
Spades' reaction was slow, with his body taking its sweet time to relax against his hold. Shy hands grasped onto the back of his suit, and Diamonds felt that it was time for him to speak.
"I can't do that," he said as he moved a strand of hair away from his brother's face. "He'd be sad if I did."
For the first time in his short life, Diamonds didn't know whether he was lying or not.
Spades didn't catch onto that, however, as he waited only a little longer to decide that he had had enough of Diamonds' hug. The other watched as he pulled away, flustered and suddenly uncomfortable to be held in his brother's arms. His eyes were clear as he distanced himself from the other, his lips forming the sulk Diamonds was so used to.
"Damn," he commented, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. Ew, gross. "What… what did you do to me?"
Spades was back. He seemed to be as grumpy as he normally would be, which comforted Diamonds to no end. The akuma could only feel anger and utter despair, it looked like he didn't have any in-betweens.
What a pitiful existence.
He smiled. "I didn't do a single thing, little brother. It was all you. Although I gotta say, it was quite amusing to watch you get all emotional on me."
Spades turned bright red at that, clenching his fists and grinding his teeth. "You definitely did something to me, you bastard! Your magic made me feel all.. weird!"
The only weird thing that had happened was that Diamonds had discovered that, despite all odds, he still had a heart, and he certainly hadn't done anything to Spades. The Original was just that sensitive, it seemed. Diamonds had had a taste of what being Him had meant, and hadn't like it one bit: feelings were really not his thing. Also he had to admit, hugging tenderly another version of himself had been pretty bizarre.
Of course, Spades didn't need to know any of that.
"Ah, you figured it out?" He grinned, pretending that he was trying to hide his disappointment. "And here I thought I had been careful!"
"I will kill you if you ever do that to me again." Spades' eyes spelled out murder to him, amusingly enough. "I am serious. Don't test my patience, Diamonds."
Although his brother's lack of gratitude annoyed him, Diamonds decided to move onto more serious business. They still had someone to threaten, after all.
"You can do that anytime, little brother, but aren't you forgetting something?" He gestured behind him, where André laid on the ground, unconscious. "We aren't finished here."
"So the fatass fainted, great." Spades observed the man with little interest before looking back at his brother. "And now what?"
"Now you do what I tell you and relax." Diamonds licked his lips. He had had enough of being nice like the Original for today, it seemed. "It's my turn for a little while."
Spades smirked at him as he approached the man with eagerness. It seemed that he did not feel any sort of remorse as he kicked the man again, causing him to wake up in a panicked fashion. Spades was a simple being, he almost envied him.
Diamonds put on his best horrified face as he suddenly grabbed his little brother, pulling him away from the man.
"You monster!" He screamed, pushing him further away. "Hasn't this man been through enough already? Haven't you gotten what you wanted through your sick games?"
Spades looked at him, startled, but didn't seem to comment on his odd behaviour. It was weird to see him being so cooperative, but Diamonds was glad to see that he was not going to interfere with his performance.
He kneeled down next to the frightened and pained Mayor, attempting to help him sit up from the carpeted floor. He wasn't surprised when his hand was yanked away.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!"
Diamonds assumed a mortified expression as he put a little distance between himself and the man.
"Please Sir," he asked gently, holding the hand the Mayor had refused close to his chest. "I mean you no harm. Allow me to help you in whatever way I can."
André had been startled by the kindness of his voice and actions, which was probably why he hadn't answered him. Diamonds took that as a chance to keep building his little web of lies.
"I know this may sound arrogant of me, but I need you to listen to what I have to say. We were sent to talk to you by our Master, Hawkmoth."
He saw the man stiffen at the mention of the name. "H-Hawkmoth? Are you…?"
"Yes, we both are akumas who obey Hawkmoth's wishes," Diamonds answered. "But that does not mean that I wish you harm. Our Master's orders did not include hurting you, and I intend not to do so."
That actually was true in a way, but the Mayor still seemed to be doubtful of his intentions.
"You can tell him that I have n-no intention of making deals with terrorists!"
Well, what did you know, the man actually had some balls to stand up to him like that. Unfortunately for him, that was not something that went on his favour: Diamonds needed him to be as cooperative as possible, he didn't need André to get heroic on him now.
"I understand perfectly, Sir," he bowed his head, trying to fool the man into believing that he respected him. "But you may want to listen to what I have to say. There are horrible things he will do if you don't obey his wishes."
"Hawkmoth can't threaten me, I'm not afraid of him!"
There was some sincerity behind those words, and Diamonds felt repulsed by that. André was proving himself to be more courageous than he had given him credit for, considering that he still was laying on the ground, unable to stand up because of the injuries Spades had caused to his back while his perpetrators were in the same room as him.
"It is not you who my Master wishes to threaten," he allowed some of his malice to show through his words, his smile darkening as he stood up, towering over the man. "Although we are aware of a certain young woman sleeping upstairs whose suffering would be devastating to you."
His glance moved on Spades, who smirked in return, clearly on the same page as him.
André paled.
"No, our Master aims higher than that," he continued. "He is threatening the whole city."
With a snap of his fingers, bright blue flames appeared in the room, swallowing the precious tapestry and furniture. A strong wind appeared out of nowhere, and caused the wide windows to open with so much violence that they shattered in a thousand pieces. Diamonds stood in the middle of the hell he had created, watching with amusement as the Mayor struggled to get to a standing position now more than ever, his eyes portraying a fear like no other. The gentle flames danced at their master's feet, circling him with elegance while caressing his cheeks.
André was looking at him differently, now. The fire had finally lit up the room, allowing him to take in the features of his aggressors. He had recognised them.
"You… Adrien… H-how?" He wasn't even capable of forming a complete sentence for how shocked he was.
The wind was merciless now, striking everything around Diamonds with violence and fighting the equally terrifying flames. It was almost as if the two were competing for completing the destruction of the room they were in, expanding and breaking anything on their path, but still avoiding the figure of their caster and their victim.
"A-Adrien! Stop!"
Diamonds wanted to laugh. Him? Adrien? That was so deliciously incorrect that it made him want to pity the man. Unfortunately, his newly-discovered heart did not seem to stretch that much. He decided instead to get a little mean; the man deserved that for having called the Original's name.
"This is only a fraction of what I can really do."
He clapped his hands, and suddenly André was floating upside-down in the air, circled by a delicate blue light. The man was turned around, giving in this way his back to Diamonds, and forced to face the windows, where he was greeted by a fearful sight. Dark, purple clouds filled the sky, their gas-like forms stretching randomly towards the buildings and trees of the city, but never managing to touch them. Diamonds doubted André understood what they really were, but the man was clever enough to understand that they were bad news.
"Those are a manifestation of my curse on this city," he said with pride. "At my Master's order, I can use them to cause incredible damage and suffering to the citizens of Paris."
He set the man down, turning him around so that he was sitting on the floor now. His face was as pale as a sheet, and his breathing was uneven and sloppy. Diamonds' eyes didn't miss the trembling of his shoulders whenever the flames got too close to his figure.
"Now, regarding what he asks you to do; it's pretty simple. I am sure that you are aware of our little… situation." He stepped towards the man, the flames creating a clear path between them. "My Master wants to find Ladybug, but she escaped after we managed to lure her into our trap yesterday, which was already pretty disappointing on its own. My job is to find her of course, but how can I find someone who is purposely hiding so well from me when I don't even know her real identity? Simple: by making someone who is her ally approach and search for her as well."
"You… want me to catch her for you?" The Mayor's eyes were wide, vivid. "But.. how would I do that?"
Diamonds snorted. "You want me to figure out that part? Ask her to meet you personally about what happened yesterday, mobilise the police and question every teenager with short black hair… You can do whatever you like as long as you do locate her and contact us, I don't particularly care."
"But… Ladybug has done so much for this city. She's our hero."
"Our vigilante, you mean."
"And if I capture her, what would happen to the city if Hawkmoth wins?" André's hands were shaking now more than ever. It was a peculiar sight to see such a big man turn into a frightened child, Diamonds was amused by that. "And what about you? Who is going to save you if she's gone?"
His concern was surprising to the akuma: he honestly didn't think that the man knew who he was apart from 'his daughter's crush,' and he certainly couldn't have imagined that he actually cared about him. Would that have made things better if he had known that when he was whole, knowing that there was someone out there who worried about him?
"Thank you for the concern, Mr. Mayor," he extended one arm, pointing at somewhere outside of the window. "But you clearly are worrying over the wrong things. Perhaps you need a little demonstration of what I can really do?"
The dark cloud stretched towards an unlucky tree, which was swallowed by the substance, thick enough to not allow neither the Mayor or Diamonds to see the tree in the middle of it all. The process took only under a minute, but when the fog left its victim, the tree looked completely different than before: green leaves had disappeared, and the lively, brown branches had turned a dark shade of black. The trunk seemed to be decomposing, with little pieces of it slowly disintegrating while worms fed over the newly discovered carcass. Diamonds' eyes turned over to the Mayor as he observed the macabre event. There was horror and fear on his face, probably caused by him imagining what his curse could have done if used on a person instead of a tree.
"You will do as my Master says if you know what's best for you and this whole city," Diamonds threatened. He allowed the flames to die out slowly, the wind becoming a soft caress against his skin. "We will make sure that you have taken action by tomorrow, you'll have the whole night to think about what to do."
The akuma turned on his heels, gesturing for Spades to follow him, leaving the man alone in his misery.
"Good night, Mr. Mayor," he chirped. "We'll see you tomorrow."
Diamonds did not spare him a second glance as he headed for the door, reaching for the elevator. He stared at his own reflection once inside, and couldn't help but notice that he was smiling. He hadn't lied as much as he could have, but he certainly had put up a show that had satisfied him for now. He eyed his brother, who stayed still next to him, unusually quiet.
"What's wrong, little brother?" He asked as they left the elevator, entering the Hotel's reception. Just as Diamonds had planned, no one seemed to have heard any of what had happened upstairs. The only person present was the still sleepy-looking receptionist, who was now scrolling through her Facebook page out of boredom. "Something bothering you?"
Spades gave him a look, half-closing his eyes in annoyance. "You. That's what's bothering me, it's you."
"How rude! I am your favourite brother out of all of us, you told me so!" Diamonds picked up the little ruby he had left on the receptionist's desk before, playing with it as he walked towards the exit.
"I've never said that!" Spades said through sealed teeth. "And you know damn well that I hate you!"
He raised an eyebrow at that. He knew that much, he wasn't dumb: Spades hated everything.
"Care to elaborate on why?"
"You got more time to play with him than I did, even though you told me we both would have fun." Now on the streets, the reflection of Spades' silver sword was the only thing that created any sort of light. "You really are a disgusting liar."
"Oh, brother! Your words wound me!" He brought his hand to his forehead, dramatically tilting it backwards. "I might just die for how hurt and sad I am right now!"
"Then die. You'd be doing the world a favour."
"Is that how you thank me after all I've done for you?" Diamonds sighed. "Well, I suppose that's something that comes with being the older brother. No one really appreciates your sacrifices."
He played with the little gem in his hands, trying to see a similarity between it and his brother's eyes in the dark with little success.
"But don't worry little brother, I'll make up for that."
He closed the palm of his hand, crushing it. He watched as slowly the purple clouds in the sky faded, leaving the moon to shine shyly behind a cover of grey but light clouds.
"I'll make sure that we'll have lots of other times to have fun together."
A/N: What do you know, I'm alive and well.
A villain-centered chapter! Not what you all expected I bet, but it was necessary and I had lots of fun writing it (Diamonds is REALLY fun to write). Have a careful read, Diamonds explains a lot of stuff regarding his "brothers" here. Also, maybe you can figure out his power by now: he looks really scary, but he does have a weak point, and I made sure to show it here.
Next time you'll have little ol' Hearts all by himself with the trio, and he's going to spill out some answers. Stay tuned for that!
As usual, I didn't even read this a second time. Please forgive my mistakes!