More with chapter 4!
I don't own Steven Universe.
Chapter 4: Outside
It had been everything she had read about… yet somehow mere words didn't do it justice.
Space was a vast void, its size almost boggling PD's mind.
She hadn't been out in space in over a thousand years. It had barely crossed her mind when she first popped from the ground but for the last few decades, maybe even centuries, it been all she thought about. The wonders that could be out there, just waiting to be discovered, so many possibilities.
The colony she was heading to was actually complete and she could have warped there, but she decided to take the scenic route instead. After all, this was her first time out in so long, she wanted to savor the feeling.
"My Diamond, we'll be arriving at colony Zohost, in only a few minutes." Reported a small green gem by Pink's command chair, breaking PD form her trance.
Pink looked down to see Peridot, the same one who had been at her creation, smiling up at her leader. "Thank you, Peridot."
Peridot continued to grin as she turned back to her console. Pink Diamond had requested all three of the gems be transferred to her ranks with a year of her ascension. They had been all too happy to agree and they'd been together ever since.
Pink had a working knowledge of Zohost. It was a relatively middle-aged colony, less than 2/3s the size of Homeworld, made shortly after Blue herself had been created. It wasn't on the fringes of their empire or anything, just another waypoint that connected the lines of communication across their society.
Pink was slightly disappointed at this. She had hoped to see what it was like way out in uncolonized space. But happy enough to get off Homeworld that she didn't really care.
They made their approach and Peridot talked through landing clearances, Pink mentally prepared herself, taking a big breath and letting it out slowly. It was time to act… ugh… regal.
The grey-green commander of Zohost gave a stern frown as she watched the pink hued cruiser land. She was tense with both excitement and curiosity but suppressed it as best she could. She had been given orders from White Diamond herself that Pink Diamond was going to be arriving today.
She didn't really know how to respond to that other than "Understood.". Why was a Diamond coming here? Was she on a mission? Did White Diamond send her here to… replace her? She grimaced at that thought. She hadn't thought her caretaking of the colony unsatisfactory and never had much in the way of complaints as to how she ran things. Still… was this about… no, it couldn't be… she hadn't heard a word of that in centuries.
That aside, she wasn't clear on how to interact with her superior either. Not that she forgot her curtsies but, she'd never been this close to an actual Diamond before. There were only four in all the empire and one had decided to visit, the very pinnacle of their society, so close to her now, it felt unreal. What if there was some sort of protocol she'd forgotten when dealing with a Diamond and she forgot it?
Actinolite shook these thoughts from her head as the ship's boarding ramp lowered, and then she saw her.
Pink Diamond.
She was just as Actinolite remembered from the broadcast over a thousand years ago. Majestic and grand, like all Diamonds. Though she noted as Pink Diamond walked down, a few gems trailing behind her, she seemed… stiff? Almost uncomfortable really, like she was doing something she'd rather not but was determined to do it anyways.
Pink hated this.
She kept her chin up and level and walked with careful steps as her followers trailed behind. She did not want to act this way, all high and mighty, but she knew she had to. She was a Diamond, things were expected of her, something she had heard countless times. So here she was, chin held high, acting like she owned the place, which while she technically did didn't mean she felt like flaunting it.
She peered down and saw small red gems lines up on either side of her, kneeling and giving the Diamond salute. She recognized them immediately, these were rubies. They were basically small quartz soldier knock-offs, not even half as strong as a quartz but about five times faster to make. She did not see any other quartzes lining up to see her either, she found this odd.
She then turned her attention to a gem who appeared to be waiting for her at the end of the ruby lines. A greenish grey gem with a pony tail and the usual gem bodysuit, her most distinguishing figure was her left eye though, slit and round like a perfectly sliced sphere. She remember such markings from her studies, an Actinolite Cat's Eye, a relatively rare commanding gem.
Actinolite gave a salute. "My Diamond, it is my honor to welcome you to Zohost. I am Actinolite Cat's Eye, facet 3Z1Y, cut 9QG, the commander here."
Pink responded in kind, the way she was taught. "Thank you, Actinolite. I wish to see your planet."
Actinolite gave a pause at this, as if coming up with an appropriate response. "Is there… anything in particular you wish to see, my Diamond?" she asked.
Pink was tempted to simply drop the facade and just ask for a simple tour of the planet's facilities. But in the back of her mind she could already hear the lectures of her sisters about the way she should be acting. So instead she came up with another idea. "Show me to your command center."
"At once my Diamond." Actinolite replied with a nod and a turn of the heel, leading Pink Diamond and her entourage back to the colony's hub. PD looked around as they walked along the landing platform, and from what she could see there was little to look at. The colony faithfully recreated Homeworld's architecture, long porcelain white arches and spires. Though from what she could see, they looked significantly older than anything she'd seen back on Homeworld.
Homeworld had its architecture renovated relatively often so that everything looked pristine and new. But PD could see flaking and cracks here and there as they walked, wear and tear from tens of thousands of years of use. Judging from the architectural style it looked like nothing had been built here since its initial colonization. Some pieces of the design she'd only seen in images taken from long before her time.
But then this was the usual procedure of the empire. Find a suitable planetoid to act as base while simultaneously becoming another foothold to expand its reach farther out into the cosmos. Then leave a small contingency there and continue pressing onwards, leaving the older colony to do little more than gather dust.
Actinolite opened the way into the planet's hub, a large spire guarded by another pair of Rubies who straightened up at the sight of their commanding officer, and even more at the sight of Pink Diamond, becoming near statues. Pink wasn't overly fond of being treated in such a way, but had long ago learned to accept it for what it was, if only to avoid confrontation with her sisters over something so trivial.
They entered the hub and Pink looked around, it quickly reminded her of a Diamond's spire but scaled down. Many gem stations were line up against the walls but most were now barren, only a few still occupied. She surmised the rest must have been allocated to other colonies after this one was complete. Her impression that things might be different was only true in the sense that they were far slower. Things on Homeworld always seemed to be moving and… well, not changing, not really, more like… happening, for lack of a better word. This place spoke of stagnation and obsolescence, something that had long ago fulfilled its purpose and now simply existed for little to no reason at all.
Actinolite approached a console and pressed a few buttons. A few moments later a hologram appeared before them, a blue sphere that represented Zohost. Pink observed the image before her, a little over 40 kindergartens, 22 spires, including the one she was standing in, a warp in each facet, the works. What would have been a fairy ambitious colony thousands of years ago when it was made would barely be considered run of the mill by today's standards. "Zohost is at your commend, my Diamond."
Pink said nothing and after a few moments of silence Actinolite spoke again, tentatively. "Is there anywhere you'd like to go? One of our other spires? A kindergarten perhaps?"
Pink Diamond thought about this. She did not want to go to a kindergarten, she had been to dozens and had seen thousands more in her studies and frankly, they were nearly invariable. Plus they always seemed a bit foreboding to her, though not initially of course. When kindergartens are first made they are actually a place of pride, new gems ready to serve in an ever expanding society. But once the kindergarten was all used up? Just large empty holes in the walls as far as the eye could see.
Still… as long as she was here perhaps there was something worth seeing. She accessed the damaged reports for the colony and could see Actinolite grimace out of the corner of her eye as she did so… there was something in here she didn't want to be seen.
Pink Diamond scanned through the reports, mostly skimming through for any key words like "decommissioned" or "defunct" or… "collapsed". Yes, there is was, a spire had collapsed some four hundred years ago.
Pink Diamond accessed this file and saw Actinolite shift her weight from one foot to another nearly imperceptibly. This was the one, something had happened here. She read the file, apparently a quartz had… gone rogue? She gave a quizzical look at this statement, it was all it said, that the quartz had gone rogue and caused the collapse of the tower.
Pink turned to Actinolite who's grimace had only deepened. "What is this?" she asked.
Actinolite nearly looked away but stopped herself, remembering who was addressing her and how that would look. "We had an… incident at one of our spires, my Diamond." She spoke slowly, clearly uncomfortable with the subject.
Pink considered dropping it for a moment but this was far too interesting to let lie. "What sort of incident?"
Actinolite was silent and Flint stepped forward. "She asked you a question!" she barked. Pink put a single hand on Flint's shoulders and the quartz looked to her superior before nodding, understanding and backing down.
Pink Diamond knelt down to Actinolite and asked again. "Please, tell me what happened."
She gave a wary resigned look before she spoke again. "It… is perhaps better if you see it for yourself, my Diamond." She then looked over to another grey-yellow looking gem with a half-shaved hairstyle. "Cal, watch over while I'm out alright?"
"Sure thing, Cat." She answered back. Actinolite then motioned for two of the ruby guards to follow them.
Actinolite motioned for Pink to follow her, taking her to a large warp pad. The party of eight, Pink Diamond, Peridot, Amythyst, Flint, Pearl, Actinolite and two rubys.
Then they found themselves standing before a large spire, Pink Diamond recognized it as one for power generation. If this place had melted down there would have been a crater before them, instead all they saw was a decrepit looking structure. Large chunks seemed to be missing here and there and the roof looked like it had collapsed, the top part of the building looking like it was leaning in on itself.
Peridot voiced everyone's question. "What happened here?" she asked.
"An 'incident'." Actinolite replied through almost clenched teeth as she led the way. They passed through the archway of the defunct building and saw rubble stacked into neat piles, much dust covered the floors and walls. In the center of the room and the only real structure that could be seen inside the building was a large bulb, cold and dark, the glass cracked was in some places while shattered completely in others. It had looked like something had gone on a rampage and smashed everything around it indiscriminately.
"What… did all this?" Pearl asked.
Actinolite gave another gesture to follow her and they walked around the room until they found a flight of stairs and began to descend. "It happened over four hundred years ago…" she started. "Back then I was only in charge of this spire, one of many to make sure the colony stayed functioning." She paused before beginning again. "One day a… a gem walked in for her shift, saying she felt strange… different. At first I thought nothing of it, I told her that once she got to work she'd feel better." She paused again, as if to gather the strength to continue. "At first there was nothing, but then I heard a scream and some kind of terrible shriek. Some sort of creature had appeared out of nowhere, we were caught totally off-guard. It destroyed the physical forms of a dozen gems before we could even react and began to attack everything near it, including the main power battery. Eventually everyone fled."
"What happened to this… creature?" Pink Diamond asked.
The group had reached the bottom of the stairs and saw a similar scene as above except for one difference. Across the room, behind what looked like a make-shift energy barrier lay on the ground a… creature. From this distance it just looked like a large green gem, but as they neared it seemed to sense their presence, jumping up and slamming its fists against the barrier, screeching, just as Actinolite had said. It had a large bipedal form, four arms that punched into the barrier to no avail as they approached. It had long shaggy hair down to its knees which obscured its eyes and a sharp-toothed mouth.
It continued to punch against the barricade in its way until it could do so no more, stopping as it panted heavily.
"What is it?" Amethyst asked.
"Some kind of monster." Flint observed.
Actinolite approached the barrier far closer than the rest of the group, nearly touching it as she gave a sigh, turning around to face them. "This 'monster' was my best friend." She turned back to it, looking mournful. "After her initial attack a few of us led her down here and managed to trap her behind this barrier. I was the only one who made it out. It was only after trapping her I realized that this creature was the same gem who had said she felt strange… the same one who I had work anyways…" she trailed off
"What about the rest of the gems who escaped? They would have made a report on this." Peridot said.
"Oh and they did." Actinolite replied, turning to her. "We waited years for a response to this… but nothing ever came, eventually, we just moved on."
"'Moved on'? How do you move on from this?" Pink asked.
"When no one hears your cries, tears are better left unshed, my Diamond." Actinolite replied. "Perhaps Homeworld thought we weren't worth the trouble, or that we could take care of this ourselves. Maybe our request for help on this matter simply got lost in communications, I don't know. All I know is that if it weren't for me, none of this would have happened. So many gems wouldn't now be broken and maybe she wouldn't be…" she trailed off again and ink Diamond caught a glimpse of tears welling up in her eyes.
Pink put a hand on her shoulder and Actinolite turned around to look at Pink Diamond who was now giving a small comforting smile. "Actinolite this was not your fault, you couldn't have known."
The commander gave a smile at this before Peridot stepped closer, observing the creature before her. "What could have caused this transformation?" she asked.
"I don't know, I've never seen if before that day or since." Actinolite replied.
"How long can that barrier hold?" Amythst asked.
"I rigged it to feed off of one of the auxiliary power supplies." She replied, pointing to another bulb though much smaller and less damaged then its larger counterpart upstairs. "It could hold for another thousand years or more."
The green creature then slammed its fists against the barrier again, sending tremors along the wall and the floor, shaking loose some dust and small rocks from the ceiling above. "We should go, we're only riling her up." Advised Actinolite.
But as they turned to leave the beatings form the monster only got faster, more feral, as if seeing the first gems in hundreds of years had given it the strength it had not felt in so long. The tremors got worse before the creature finally slammed with all its might against the barrier. Sections of the ceiling came raining down in small chunks at first before a large section loosed itself and fell… right on top of the auxiliary generator. It exploded sending shards of metal all over the place as the group ducked for cover.
The underground lights flickered now, power just barely getting to them as the creature screeched now freed from its confines. Flint had summoned her blade, getting into a fighting stance as Amethyst did the same with her mace. They turned to the pen where the creature was being held, ready to face it, but it was nowhere to be seen.
The lights continued to flicker and the group circled up looking for the beast as it continued its horrible shrieking. Pink Diamond saw a flash as it jumped from wall to wall before dicing and tackling Flint to the ground. Flint struggled with it as its teeth gnawed at the blade. Amethyst moved to hit it but as she swung the mace, the creature caught it with one of its hands, shrieking back at her. Flint used this as an opportunity to slash at the creature only for it to jump away, sticking against the wall.
Peridot moved to shoot it and let loose a barrage, only to miss as the creature jumped again. Flint and Amethyst attempted to rush it but it daftly grabbed Flint's arm in the swing and hurled her into Amethyst, sending them both flying. The creature capitalized rushing towards Peridot who was shooting all the while, but in her panicked state the green gem could not land a hit as the beast maneuvered around. It closed the distance and quickly caught Peridot's limb enhancer as it charged for another blast. The creature crushed it with one hand, causing it to explode and sending Peridot flying as the creature was only pushed back by inches.
The two rubies nodded to each other, holding hands as a bright light enveloped them and they fused into one being. Pink saw this and might have been more amazed at the sight, it being one of her first times seeing a fusion in action, if not for the creature now barreling towards them.
The fusion summoned a shield and a spear as the creature attacked. The fists landed hard against the shield but it held as ruby moved to sweep with her spear. The creature gracefully jumped over the swing and landed behind the back of the two-ruby fusion. It grabbed Ruby's shield arm and then her spear arm and began to pull. The fusion struggled before the form dissipated and the creature held in its hands two weakened rubies. It smashed them together and their forms poofed out of existence, their gems dropping to the ground.
The creature then turned its attention up towards Pink Diamond, but Pearl stood in the way, a rapier in hand and thrust at it. But the being nimbly dodged her flurry of strikes and knocked her away. It then turned back to PD who went to try and kick it only for the creature to jump high, and land a solid hit across Pink Diamond's face, sending her tumbling to the ground. PD was stunned, that was perhaps the first time she'd even been really hurt. It filled her with fear and excitement all at once. But there was no time to think about that as the creature landed on her chest and was readying to continue the assault.
However it stopped short as a rope appeared around it, holding it in place. Pink Diamond looked over to see Actinolite gritting her teeth as she struggled to keep the creature restrained. It hissed and writhed, struggling to break free. Amethyst jumped back into action giving a full on body blow with her mace and sending the creature tumbling off of Pink Diamond.
The creature was soon on its feet again and broke free of its restraints but Flint came up from behind and put it into a headlock. The creature attempted to move its arms to free itself as Amethyst came to deliver another blow, but it came s second too late as the beast threw Flint over her shoulder and landed on Amethyst.
Actinolite then launched her rope dart again and wrapped the creature in its confines. It hissed at her and made a move to attack her before a great fist came smashing down on it from above, creating a crater in the ground as Pink Diamond sat up. She lifted her fist and the creature was still for a moment before it began to get up and Pink Diamond slammed it into the ground again, deepening the hole, this time there was an audible poof and the creature was gone.
Pink Diamond breathed heavily, as did the other gems. Pearl got up quickly and rushed to PD's side to ensure her Diamond's wellbeing. "My Diamond! Are you alright?!" she asked, with great worry.
"I'm fine Pearl, nothing I can't walk off." Pink assured as she stood once again to full height.
"I'm so so sorry, I shouldn't have let you come to harm!" she said, almost on the verge of tears. "I'm such an idiot! I'm so-" Pearl stopped as Pink Diamond reached down to touch her.
"Pearl, I'm alright." She affirmed.
Pearl only smiled in return as she touched Pink's hand. "I'm so glad."
Flint gave a small chuckle as she and Amethyst picked themselves off the ground and Peridot sat up, gathering herself. "Nice job, boss!" Flint called out as Amethyst gave a smile.
Peridot frowned as she looked to her ruined limb enhancer, now just a blackened piece of metal. "Look what it did to my arm!" she cried.
Actinolite walked over to the crater and picked up the green gem that lay inside. "I'm sorry… so sorry…" she whisper as a tear cam streaming from her eye. She then turned to her two fallen rubies and observed the gems, neither seemed worse for wear. "Thank goodness." She thought as she picked them up and pocketed them.
The ruined spire then continued to rumble, the structure had had it, it was coming down.
Pink Diamond didn't even think, she grabbed the gems around her and held them tight to her chest, running up the stairs as they crumbled beneath her. She dived for the entrance and rolled as the spire collapsed fully behind them. Pink Diamond loosened her grip as she looked down to the gems in her embrace. "Everyone okay?" They nodded numbly, not really believing all that had happened in such a short time.
The gems dusted themselves off and warped back. They were met by a contingent of rubies led by the grey-yellow gem from before. "Cat! What happened…" she turned her gaze upward and saw the condition of all the gems.
"What happened?" she asked again. "When I saw that the aux generator went down I figured something happened but…" she stopped as Actinolite walked closer and held out the green gem. Calcite's eyes opened wide at this. "I-Is that…?"
Actinolite nodded numbly and Calcite's one of her hands flew to her mouth in a gasp as she reached out to the gem with another, stopping just short of touching it. Actinolite then reached into her other pocket and produced the two ruby gems and tossed them over to some of the ruby guards. "Make sure they're taken care of." She ordered. The two guards only nodded and ran off.
The group made their way back to the command center and Actinolite turned to look up at the Diamond. They all looked pretty badly scuffed and she was unsure how Pink Diamond would react to all the events. She after all had pretty much knowingly placed a Diamond in harm's way, if there was a penalty that involved shattering that probably qualified. "My Diamond…" she started slowly.
Pink Diamond raised a hand at this. "That's enough. This is no time for stupid formalities." She said. "This…" she said pointing to the green gem in Actinolite's hand. "Is a serious problem, one that has been ignored for far too long. Someone needs to answer for this and I'm going to find out who." She turned to look at her companions. "Are you with me?" she asked.
"Always, boss." Flint replied with a grin.
"Of course." Replied Amethyst.
"I'll always follow you." Peridot replied.
"Your wish is my command, my Diamond." Pearl answered.
Pink Diamond then turned her attention back to Actinolite. "I'm afraid if I'm going to ask questions, I'm going to need…"
Actinolite simply nodded as Pink held out her hand the commanding gem gave the Diamond a hard look. "You'll find out what or who's responsible?"
"You have my word."
"Thank you, my Diamond." She replied quietly, depositing the green gem in her hand. Pink Diamond gave a pat on her shoulder before taking off towards the door, her entourage in tow. "Someone needs to answer for this. And I'm going to find out who." Pink Diamond thought as she and her crew boarder and the ship took off into the sky.
Actinolite and Calcite watched as it too off, some of the rubies standing by as well. "Do you think she'll be able to find answers?"
Actinolite gave a small smile as she stared off into the sky. "Looks like we gotta trust her now."
Calcite turned to look at Actinolite. "And do you?"
"After today? With my life." She replied. Her mind then drifted off as she thought far back in time to when she and her two friends all worked together, nothing making her happier.
"We'll be waiting right here for you… Emerald."
BOOM! Another one done, and another one done. Another one writes the dust! Review please.
