~O~
Made in Her Image
White watched the aberration as it scuttled about in the cell.
She was taking notes, finding its behavior facinating. It seemed that the machine she'd created as a means to control defiance among the gems was successful. Each result was different for every gem, but the purpose was the same.
No memories.
No cognitive thought process as they had before.
Just a mindless, animalistic pattern of behavior.
It was fitting, all things considering. White didn't tolerate defiance of any kind, especially on her colonies. She had only been curious by what had caused such a small uprising. No gems of her court were so brazen and foolish. This would warrant further investigation at a later time, she assumed. There was still much else that needed to be done.
Her mind drifted away to Pink Diamond and she couldn't help but miss her, even in the passing months that they'd been apart from one another. White lacked a need for contact, physical or otherwise; but Pink she adored and missed her company.
"Look at you, White," Yellow remarked, early one morning. "You're much like Blue when she and I first paired together. It seems there's a heart deep inside that chest of yours."
White raised an eyebrow.
"It all fine to me," Yellow told her. "After all..." Her features smoothed out a little and there was a warmth of emotion that came and went quickly. "Everyone needs that. Even you, White."
White stared at her, contemplative.
Meanwhile, a peridot was rushing to Pink Diamond's chamber to give the good news regarding the emerging of a new soldier. Pink had been speaking to her pearl when the peridot entered, panting and leaning on her knees.
"My Diamond, forgive me!" she gasped, "But I come bringing good news!"
Pink Diamond looked surprised. "Ah, let's hear it."
The peridot saluted and brightened happily. "Your Glimemring Radiance, we've finally done it!" she exclaimed, "We've created the Perfect Quartz soldier!"
Pink looked at her, almost uncertain if she could believe that. Still, she would see for herself if this was true or not. So she rose and gestured for her pearl to follow her.
"Show me." Pink said.
The peridot squealed gleefully and two agates followed Pink Diamond as they were led to the Kindergarten. An agate was addressing the newly emerged Amethyst's in a loud, abrupt voice while walking down the line of them.
"We will be starting on training regiments in the passed several days! The same will go for the following months of ruthless training on Homeworld - is there a problem here, pebble?"
She stopped at an Amethyst, who had been smiling.
"No." the Amethyst said.
"No, WHAT?" the agate barked.
"NO, MY AGATE!"
"Pebble, I have trained and punished hundreds of your gem cut before you popped that ugly face of yours out of the mud!" she thundered. "Now TELL ME AGAIN! WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?!"
"NOTHING, MY AGATE!"
"Good. Now all of you can run four-hundred laps around the Kindergarten for your fellow Amethyst's cheek. NOW!"
There were jaspers, agates and peridots who circled what could only be deemed as the Perfect Exit Mark from a jasper standing before them. Pink's eyes widened with delight and the new jasper immediately saluted her.
"She's perfect!" she exclaimed.
The jasper's eyes widened in shock and awe as she was promptly taken into her arms and embraced. The other gems watched the scene with a mixture of envy and delight. Jasper seemed to take great comfort in those arms and shut her eyes.
She was warm.
O
White Diamond's tower wasn't as well lit as Pink expected it to be.
She had arrived with the intent of speaking with White and found only a few gems walking around, carrying out their daily tasks. Often times, Pink had forgotten that White rarely required much assistance in her tower; if anything, she'd preferred solitude above all things. That, and she was clearly capable of performing her duties on her own.
"White?" she said, "I'm here to speak with you."
A Grey Star Sapphire approached, giving her a respectable bow. "Your Radiance. To what do I owe such an honor?"
"I would like to speak with White. Is she present?" Pink asked.
"She is currently away on an important task. We are awaiting her return shortly."
"Did she say what this task was?"
"She did not, Your Radiance."
"I see. Well, I'll simply wait for her return."
Pink wandered through the tower to White Diamond's archives. She was curious by the data that the other matriarch had collected for personal use. She smiled and made a sound of approval, taking one of the data plates. It was old; quite old given the textures and cracks.
Pink started it up and received only static. Frowning, she tapped the plate and the static cleared, granting her an image of White Diamond's face. The diamond was smiling, seemingly pleased by something. Pink felt herself smiling as well and she took a seat in the nearby chair.
There was no sound, but White in the recording told more by her smiles, her approving nods. It looked like a much more innocent time for her. She was probably younger in this video feed. Pink could assume that so much had changed.
A soft hiss filled the air, and Pink shut off the video feed, frowning curiously.
She rose and gestured for her pearl to follow her. The sound continued and seemed to grow louder until she noticed a glass cell that housed a corrupted gem fusion.
Pink's eyes widened in horror at the sight of it; violet, covered in thick white hair. Multiple limbs that ended in horrible claws. Four eyes above a drooling, gaping maw.
The pearl beside her gave a frightened cry, hiding behind her legs. Pink stood there, absolutely stunned to silence. She had never seen a gem look like this before; body mutilated into such an agonized image of what it once was.
"Pink..."
Pink turned, noticing White standing in the doorway, watching her silently. She didn't seem angered by the unarranged arrival, but curious more than anything else.
"White...what is...that?" Pink asked, barely able to get the words out.
White stared at her silently before she made her way to the cell. "A defect. Of...particular sorts." she explained. "The trial regarding the uprising on one of my colonies yielded these results. This is the fusion left to my devices. I used her to test a new device."
Pink looked at her, then to the gem corruption. "I-I don't understand. This is..." she managed. "White, this is too far!"
"How far is too far for the sake of control?" White wasn't entirely certain as to why Pink was shocked the way she was. "Defiance gives rise to an uprising that we do not allow. Gems given free will often times break the chains of a dynasty that we've worked hard to create."
Pink agreed with White, but only so far.
Watching the creature in the cell writhe, gurgle and hiss was just... It wasn't right. It felt abhorrent; a perversion of gem life. It wasn't just a corruption of the gem, but of the purity and will of the Diamonds.
"You're upset." White said. She tilted her head, brow forming a thin line.
"I'm upset?" Pink stared at her with anguish. "Look at what I see! Suffering of a creature not worthy of this! This is sad... Why wouldn't I be upset?"
"Pink..." White started to reach for her, but the other diamond quickly made her way out of the room.
She watched her go, features smoothing out sadly.
Time.
She just needed some time to understand. Such was the way of the younger ones.
O
White didn't speak to her after that.
Pink didn't see her much in the passing weeks and she knew that the older diamond had a way with respecting boundaries if need be. Perhaps there was more to it. Maybe White herself had no idea how to approach this delicate situation. She spoke with Blue about what she'd seen and Blue had unfortunately known about it.
"Yes, well...that's unfortunately true," she said, quietly. "White has been developing something that she'd use in the event of a mass uprising of colony gems. None of us are particularly happy by it, but it could be necessary."
Pink sighed, looking away. "It's...It's cruel."
"Perhaps. But sometimes we must be cruel, even if it means damning them to save others." Blue reminded her, with a sad smile. "None of us enjoy the idea of it."
Pink still refused to look at her.
Blue sighed gently through her nostrils and patted her hand soothingly. "Pink, have you spoke with White at all since you've seen this? It pains me to see any discomfort among you two."
"No. I had to think about things."
"There are still many things about her that remain unknown, even to us," Blue explained, "But she's old. Much older than we are. She's known things and sung songs that go beyond us. White is many things, but she isn't cruel. I hope you'll remember that."
Pink looked disappointed. "I do know this. She's gentle. I've seen that side of her. But I fear..."
Blue looked at her curiously. "What do you fear?"
"I...Oh, Blue; I don't know."
Blue stood up, gave her a gentle caress of her shoulder. "I'll speak with her. If that sounds agreeable to you."
"If you feel you must. I should return to my duties on Earth."
Blue nodded before departing.
She made her way to White's tower, ignoring the salutes and acknowledgement from the gems of the eldest diamond's court. She found White in her search; the diamond was sitting alone, going over a few archives in silence.
"White." Blue said, evenly.
"You know, I've always admired this particular species' ability to purge their emotions," White said, studying data displayed in numerical code before her, "I considered it once. To be unclouded by concience or delusions of morality would benefit my purpose in the end."
Blue exhaled, shaking her head. "Honestly, White. Don't be so dramatic."
She approached her, took the tablet from White's hands and sat down nearby. White gave her a look, but she didn't seem content to chastise her for the assumption.
"Pink is still young." Blue reminded her. "It takes time for all of us to fall into the routine of each other's ways."
White seemed to consider something before she looked at her. "Is she afraid?"
Blue hesitated to answer. "It's...not my place to say."
White sighed quietly. It was something she rarely felt; conflict and uncertainty. In truth, the idea of Pink becoming frightened of her was the last thing she wanted. In a sense, she considered Pink's purpose and her own. It would have been understandable that she would be unsettled by what she saw. After all, Pink's sole reason was of love and nurturing. White, however, was not.
But it wasn't proper to leave her like this. She had to speak with her.
O
Pink was at her throne, speaking with a gem regarding information of the zoo. When White entered, all attention turned to her and whatever gems were engaging themselves in, had stopped. White glanced up at Pink and she looked slightly surprised to see her.
She looked at the gems and waved her hand. "Leave us." she said.
Immediately, the gems filed out of the room until only White and Pink were left alone together. White regarded Pink silently for a moment. When she spoke, her voice took on that familiar, constant flatness that she was known for.
"I assume you have questions for me." she said.
Pink nodded her head. She placed her hands in her lap and crossed her ankles. She raised her head, regarding White in a look befitting a diamond. It didn't last and her features filled with sadness. White exhaled quietly through her nose.
"What does the purpose of these tests serve?" she asked.
"I informed you. I assumed it was obvious."
"No. There's another reason. Perhaps I am too naive to see it. Perhaps I don't want to see it; but regardless, as a diamond, it is my duty to understand."
White agreed with that sentiment. "There is a balance that must be maintained, Pink. On Homeworld. Among us. Among the universe."
Pink thought about it. She had been right on that fact.
"Did it frighten you?" White asked, after a moment of hesitation.
Another silence passed between them and Pink nodded once.
White's voice was softer now. Sad. "Do you not wish to see me anymore?"
Pink, once more, shook her head.
"White, that isn't what frightened me," Pink said, still so quiet.
"Then what is it?" White took a step forward.
"Is it really that easy for you?" Pink looked rather pained now, "Could you so easily snuff out a living being without hesitation? Without thought to what they feel? What they suffer?"
White thought about it. In truth, she'd done it so many times, it was as normal to her as breathing was to an organic creature. She was a diamond and as such, had to do whatever she did to keep logic and order in check.
Pink waited for an answer, but White didn't know what to say. It was a rare experience.
"Perhaps, despite everything, we still have much to learn from one another," White finally said, "Myself, mostly, it seems."
Pink furrowed her brow for a moment, gauging the level of sincerity from White. She rose from her throne, approached her and gently reached up to place a hand against her cheek. White shut her eyes and leaned into the touch. She couldn't help it.
"Despite their flaws, gems do not deserve a fate worse than death," Pink told her, "Please, don't do that to them anymore. Punish them if you must, but... Don't destroy everything that makes them what they are."
White exhaled, reaching up to hold Pink's hand to her cheek.
"I will...consider your words, Pink," she finally said, opening her eyes and regarding the smaller diamond. "But would you do something for me as well?"
"Of course." Pink assured her.
White's expression changed; she looked pained. "If you have an issue, speak to me on it. When you depart, I worry."
Pink looked surprised. "You worry?" That was new.
"Indeed. Is it not my right to do so?"
"Of course it's your right. I'm just...surprised to hear you confess it."
"I'm surprised to speak it."
Pink chuckled a little, lowering her head somewhat before she patted White's shoulder once. "Okay." she replied, understanding enough to know what White asked.
"It is a curious matter," White said, gently reaching down to take Pink's hand in hers. It began a delicate caress. "How much I can feel when I stand in your presence. I had assumed I was without such feeling for quite some time. I trust you'll remember that what I decide to do and the research I perform will never reflect judgement on you."
She noticed that Pink was silent, contemplative. White furrowed her brow. "Your silence does not suggest enormous enthusiasm in what I say."
Pink laughed gently. "No, I'm just happy to hear that, White."
"I see."
That had gone well.
O
"White, I'd like to give this to you."
The two diamonds rested in Pink's bed chamber that evening, having a moment to be intimate before returning to their duties. When Pink had offered a small, spherical object to White, the older diamond sat up curiously.
"What is it?" she asked.
Pink placed a finger onto a button beside it and immediately, it split open vertically, metal parts falling back like a blooming flower. Lovely music filled the air and White took the object in her hand. The sound was soothing and seemed to caress her form from deep within.
"I had this comissioned by the Flint," Pink told her, leaning against White's shoulder. "It's lovely, isn't it?"
White nodded. "Indeed. Not that I do not appreciate the offering, but to what do I owe such a gift?"
"I thought you needed this more than I did." Pink said, smiling up at her, "When you're busy working or we cannot see one another for extended periods of time, I feel this would comfort you."
White nodded her head. "Ah. I see. Thank you, Pink."
Pink leaned up for a kiss and White raised a hand to the back of her neck, holding her closer. Those gloriously warm lips rolled so gently over hers.
Once they parted, White smiled a little down at her, brushing her thumb against Pink's bottom lip. "I adore you, Pink." she told her.
"And I you, White." Pink answered, with an affectionate caress on her shoulder.
O
Note - An interesting idea I had regarding White Diamond's abilities: A banshee-like scream that can render gems incapacitated as well as manipulate memories. I thought that the Corruption Song has parts of each Diamond's skills.
Also, since this is an AU, I wanted to make Jasper meet her Diamond in this fic. Because come on. She deserves that much. I also like the idea of Pink being far more empathetic than the other diamonds. Each diamond seems to have a trait and power specific to them. I thought Pink's could be nature and nurturing.
This chapter was inspired by the song "Secrets" by One Republic.