Chapter 24, with more.

I don't own Steven Universe.


Chapter 24: Sides

"Hello again, Rose."

"Pink. Pearl. It's… good to see you both." Rose said, stepping towards them.

Pink looked around the place. "You've added a few things I see."

"This and that, thanks by the way for creating this place." Rose replied, looking to Pearl.

"It's just a small pocket dimension that I've made accessible to two people, it's no big deal." Pearl said without a hint of sarcasm.

"I'm surprised my Pearl can't do all this."

"I'm afraid this is pretty exclusive to me. Pearls of any kind can store objects, I just found a way to 'store' time and space in such a way that-"

"Alright Pearl, that's enough. We don't need to hear the explanation again." Pink cut off as she looked to the quartz. "This place though, it does seem… nice. But we came for a reason."

"Heh. And here I thought you came all the way to talk about my interior decorating." She sat down, idly running her hand through the pink clouds floating near her, swirling them around.

"Yellow's starting to get suspicious that there's a spy among my gems." Pink said, her voice tinged with worry.

"It's not like she's wrong." Pink said, not looking to the Diamond. "You know, is there anyone close to you that you haven't lied to? Me? The other Diamonds? Your friends? Anybody?"

Pink grimaced. "Something I picked up from my dear sisters, unfortunately. And just like they did it then to protect me I'm doing this for the greater good."

Rose looked to the ground, as if pondering what she should say. "The 'greater good', huh? When you came to me one hundred years ago, I honestly hoped for the best, that they could be convinced otherwise." She narrowed her eyes. "But we both know how that turned out."

Pink narrowed her own eyes. "It's not like I didn't try, Rose. And you hardly seemed opposed to the idea when I suggested the rebellion to you. But, I'm not here to argue with you about this again." Pink pulled out a holographic map. "We have several dozen gems we suspect may be sympathetic to your cause, we'll have them patrol in facet three, you should be able to find them and turn them to your side."

"'My side'? I thought it was our side."

Pink gave a look of annoyance and mild anger. "You know I can't."

"Is that why you had someone else do it for you?" Rose asked. "You could have been a symbol of freedom to gems everywhere in our Empire. But you were too afraid to oppose your sisters, so you created someone who could."

Pink's angered look turned to one of shame and Pearl stepped up between them. "Rose, that's enough! You know she's doing everything she can for you and the Earth!"

"But she's not, is she?" Rose said looking to Pink.

"I know what you want me to say Rose, and I know what you want me to do. But I won't-"

"Open your eyes Pink! This is war now!" Rose said, taking a step toward the Diamond.

Pink's calm broke. "You think I don't know that?! You think I don't want to join you?! "

"Then why don't you?!" The quartz asked, coming out more like s shouting plea than a bark of anger.

"If I joined you now, my sisters would soon descend upon this planet with the full force of the Empire and wipe us all out. As long as I make a good enough show that I have everything under control, they won't interfere, at least for the moment." Pink replied, attempting to lower her voice and calm herself. "At this point the best we can hope for is a long war of attrition, so long that my sisters decide that the planet has become more trouble than it's worth and pull back."

Rose was silent for a moment, until she said something that cut right through to Pink Diamond's core. "Is that why you destroyed Echo base?"

Pink let a few moments of silence pass between them. "You… heard then."

Rose's eyes shot open with a mixture of outrage and shock. "'Heard'? Are you joking?" Rose reached in a took out a holographic transmitter. "Look what's been transmitted over the major frequencies." She pressed a button and suddenly Pink was watching footage of her assault on Echo base. The visuals were crystal clear but the audio had been dubbed over with Yellow's voice.

"Gems of the Empire, you may have heard of the rebellion on Earth! Observe as Pink Diamond crushes one of their most heavily guarded bases with ease! These rebels are nothing but fools to be crushed! Know that our Empire is strong! That your Diamonds are strong! And that no rebellion against us stands a chance!"

Rose turned it off. "It goes on like that for a while."

Pink put a hand to her chin, her eyes reflecting sorrow. "I knew she wanted proof that I was doing everything I could, but to use me as propaganda…"

"Seems you did, a little too well." Rose observed.

"I had to make it look good." Pink said, defending herself.

"Oh, you did that alright. That was a complete wipeout of our forces there. Over a fifth of the rebellion's fighting force, gone in an instant." Rose said, in a surprisingly calm voice. "I had a lot of good friends there, a lot of the remaining rebellion forces did."

"I did what I had to." Pink said, defending herself again, but weaker, as if she herself didn't even believe it.

"You did, did you? You had to obliterate a base full of gems loyal to a cause that you yourself orchestrated?" Rose asked.

"Yes, she did." Pearl said, finally interjecting. Rose turned her attention to her, a bit surprised. Having gotten used to the relatively demure and obedient nature of pearls, hearing one now sounding so outspoken and spirited caught her a bit off guard. "You don't have any idea what Pink has gone through just to keep her sisters away from this planet. You've never been in Yellow Diamond's presence, she's ruthless and efficient but also intelligent and cunning. It's been all Pink's been able to do to keep her and Blue Diamond at bay, and you want to blame her?"

Rose wanted to say something to this, but in the back of her mind, she knew Pearl was correct and instead let out a puff of exasperated air. "I just wish… that you could have found another way."

Pink finally allowed herself to crouch down before leaning backward and falling on her bottom. She let her arms rest on her knees, looking to the skies. "I wish so too, but it's not about what we wish things were like, only working with the way things are. You must be the rebel leader, defender of the planet and symbol of freedom, and I must be the cruel tyrant, enforcer of obedience and destroyer of worlds."

Pink walked closer, then sat down next to Pink. "Do you think things will ever change?"

The Diamond shrugged. "I've been trying to change things for longer than I can remember, Rose. But things have stayed the same for our kind for so long, I'm beginning to doubt we're even capable of it."

Rose shrugged. "Well, if it helps, I think you've done more to change than any other Diamond."

Pink smiled. "If only a little bit at a time, right?""

"Does change happen any other way?" Rose asked.

The both of them lightly chuckled at that, allowing a brief silence to sit between them. Pearl watched on with kind and patient eyes. These two had grown close in an incredibly short amount of time. The way Rose was now, reminded her much of how Pink was before White's fall. She was outspoken and brash about things she perceived to be wrong, much like how Pink was especially with Yellow and Blue. But after White had fallen, a great sadness had overtaken the young Diamond and despite their past grievances sought solace from her sisters. Pink had changed them, but not nearly as much as Pink had changed for them. Both Yellow and Blue became less abrasive towards the lesser gems, adopting some of Pink's more informal attributes such as not talking down as often and speaking harshly to their subordinates only when warranted and not before. But Pink had changed too, she became less outspoken to both of them about things she had previously been vehement against. She started to fall in line with the orders of her sisters and had this planet not been so full of life, it was likely that Pink may have simply followed through with colonial plans.

"And the humans?" Rose asked, changing the subject.

Pink looked down to her. "What about them?"

Rose gave a look. "I know you're moving them, the ones you captured."

"I am." Pink confirmed. "I'm taking them offworld."

"Why?"

"Because they'll be safer, out there." Pink said gesturing to the ceiling, but clearly meaning space.

"But you can't! This is their home!" Rose argued.

"Rose, let's face reality. We may not win this war, I'm doing everything I can to stall our forces but both Yellow and Blue and getting impatient. They may soon take matters out of my hands and if that happens…"

Rose's eyes widened. "You're trying to preserve them."

Pink nodded. "I am. It may be this planet's destiny to become a colony, despite our best efforts. And should that happen, I want at least them to survive."

"Wait what about the sarrukh?" Pearl asked.

Pink turned her gaze down to her. "Peridot told me their nature was too… volatile for peaceful cohabitation with other species, especially with humans. She had them rounded up and sent to the icecaps, where they can hibernate until we know what to properly do with them."

"What if the ice caps start melting?" Pearl asked.

"That wouldn't happen for hundreds of thousands of years." Pink assured. "I mean, in order for the ice to melt where we're keeping them now, the Earth would have to be somehow heated immensely in a short amount of time. And how could that happen?"

"True, it does seem unlikely."

Pink then turned back to Rose. "So, how does the rebellion fare?"

"Better than we feared, but worse than we'd hoped." The quartz replied honestly. "I wish some more rose quartzes were here with me, healing all these gems, one after another. It just never ends."

"I'd like to help on that front, but when the rebellion broke out Yellow ordered me to send the quartzes to vastly different colonies." Pink replied. "Afraid that they'd be more easily swayed to your side."

"I guess I should be glad they're safe, if nothing else." Rose said sadly.

"And your soldiers?"

"They're ready to fight, most of them care little about the Earth itself though. Most of them are here because they see it as a chance to break away from the hierarchy. To do whatever they feel like instead of what they were created for and only what they were created for." The quartz explained. "And that display of power, it rattled a lot of them. It was all I could do just to calm them and stop them from surrendering in doves. Many of them still have faith in me though, thinking I'm some sort of military genius, when really, I'm getting inside information from you."

"Any defectors of note?" Pink asked.

"My Lapis Lazuli, she tried to defect but…"


A blue gem sneaks around in the night. She thinks she is hidden she thinks she is undetectable.

She thinks wrong.

"Lapis?" Came the voice of Rose as she saw the blue gem leaving their compound. "What are you doing out here? Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving."

Rose blinked once. "What?"

"I said I'm leaving." Lapis Lazuli repeated.

"You can't leave, we need you!" Rose argued. "We're trying to make a better life here! You're just going to give up on that?"

"A better life for who?!" The blue gem argued back, then pointing at some nearby trees. "For them?! For these 'humans' you seem to be so fond of?!"

"For everyone!" The quartz said, raising her hands above her head. "We're trying to make it so anyone can choose to live the way they want to!"

"And looks what that's already cost us!" Lapis spat back. "We've lost a quarter of the gems who originally rebelled a hundred years ago, and recruitment for more isn't exactly overflowing!" Her face, filled with anger calmed a bit as she tried to compose herself. "We need to face the facts Rose, we're outnumbered and outgunned, this place isn't going to last. I'm going back to Homeworld."

"Is that why you tried to leave like this? So that you could join them and cripple us?" Rose asked.

"This war needs to end Rose, and I know which side is going to win in the end. I like you, and I really like what you're fighting for, but I'm not putting my life on the line anymore, not with these odds. I'm sorry." Lapis said, turning away from her.

Rose closed her eyes and nodded once. "I understand."

"Thank you. I was almost afraid you wouldn't-URK" Lapis' eyes shot wide as she looked down and saw a pink blade protruding itself from her stomach.

Rose whispered in her ear. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry too."

Lapis' face was one of shock. "Rose… you-!" The blue gem poofed and the quartz caught the gem in her hand.

"Don't worry Lapis. I'll make sure you make it back to Homeworld in once piece." Rose said as she bubbled the gem.


"I see. I do remember her. She was quite powerful for a lazuli gem. I'm sorry to hear that."

"Sadly, that may not even be the worst problem I've had to deal with."


"Bismuth, you need to calm down." Rose said trying to keep her voice even.

"Calm down?! Calm DOWN?!" Bismuth repeated, her face twisted with anger. "Echo Base was just wiped off the planet like it was nothing and you want me to calm down?!" She shook her head. "I could have done more! I SHOULD HAVE!" she said punching a metal wall, leaving behind fist-shaped a dent.

"It wasn't your fault, Bismuth. There was nothing-"

"You weren't there, Rose! You didn't see what she did!" Bismuth cut off, tears in her eyes. "So many gems… gone… forever… because of her… no… because of all of the Diamonds…"

Rose tried to put a hand on Bismuth's shoulder but she turned away. "Bismuth, you're not helping anyone blaming yourself like this."

Bismuth was silent, then nodded once, her voice now much calmer. "You're right. There's nothing we can do about them, any of them, not yet." The multi-colored gem turned to her a strange look in her eye. "But don't you worry, Rose. I'm going to make something that'll even the odds. Just you watch, even Diamond will shatter."


Pink raised a brow at that. "Sounds ominous."

Rose shook her head. "Bismuth was always headstrong, but I'm afraid her recent experiences at Echo Base may have changed something in her."

Pearl looked to Pink. "My Diamond, we should head back before anyone misses us."

Pink nodded to her getting up, and the two turned to leave. But Pink stopped and looked down at Pearl and then over to Rose who was watching them leave, then back to Pearl. "Don't you want to ask?"

Pearl looked up at her Diamond for a moment then over to Rose, she walked closer. "Is Pearl…?"

Rose smiled kindly. "She's been doing fine, don't worry."

A sense of relief washed over her. "That's wonderful to hear." She then turned to leave but stopped after a step and looked back to Rose. "Remind her to keep her left flank covered, she was always leaving it exposed."

"I'll be sure to." Rose replied, nodding.

With that Pearl opened another portal and they were gone. Rose picked herself up and brushed herself off and looked to the tree one last time before turning and leaving.

Rose exited her room to see her own Pearl practicing some basic fighting moves. She turned her attention to Rose as she saw her exiting her room. "Rose, did you have that time you needed to reflect on things?"

Rose nodded. "Yes Pearl, it was very relaxing." She walked by and eyed her stance. "You're leaving your left flank open, by the way."

Pearl looked at herself and adjusted. "Oh, so I am. Thank you. I was always… doing that…" Pearl seemed a bit wistful just then, her eyes gaining a glazed appearance.

Rose gave a curious look. "Pearl?"

The lithe gem shook her head, clearing her mind. "Sorry Rose, my mind just wandered off for a bit."

Rose smiled warmly. "it's fine. Are you ready to go?"

Pearl gave a confident smile. "Yes, let's."


Pink Diamond and Pearl made it back to her room when they heard a banging at the door. "Who could that be?" Pink asked aloud.

Pearl walked over and opened the door, seeing Flint's frowning face staring at them. Onyx, in her Amethyst form, stood next to her giving a look of mild amusement.

"Finally! I've been pounding on this thing for like ten minutes!" Flint said.

"It was less than thirty seconds." Onyx said flatly.

"Anyways!" Flint said changing the subject from her awful sense of time. "Pink, we got a battle meeting to go to."

"Another already?" Pink asked.

"Can't be helped, big rebel activity's been reported." Flint said, shrugging.

Pink sighed. "Very well." She turned to Pearl. "Keep an eye on things alright?"

Pearl nodded and Flint led the way across the round room to the other side where the meeting was being held. Three gems were already inside, looking at a holographic map of Earth being displayed around a table where one end was clearly bigger than the others. The four commanders were an Agate, an Amethyst, another Agate, but of a different type than the first, and Flint as she walked around to her own seat around the table. The four of them all stood up and saluted to her before Pink gave a wave and they all sat down again.

Pink really didn't like these meetings, and not just because she didn't really like discussing fighting in general. No, what she truly disliked was the fact that she knew she was intentionally sabotaging her own gems so that the rebellion would continue having a fighting chance against the hordes of Homeworld forces. These gems were placing their trust in her, to lead them and guide them to victory, when in reality she was only ensuring their defeat.

Though to be fair, this wasn't all the time.

She more or less kept things even, allowing rebels to have the advantage, but only just. If it was too one sided she knew Yellow would suspect something. As it was, the elder gem contributed the rebellion's success to Rose Quartz and her alone, just the way Pink liked it. This war of attrition idea was. so far, the best the Diamond could do, hoping every day that Yellow would call her, tell her they were abandoning the colony idea, and leave. Maybe then Pink could finally sit her sister down and actually get them to open their eyes to a little reformation. But until then…

Flint spoke up first. "Iris, could you catch us up to speed?"

Flint had been questioned about her appointment to such a high position years earlier, but after a scant few years in command she already had quite the reputation as a hardened battle commander. Now after over a century of leading she was practically legendary among the troops.

Iris Agate looked to Flint then eyed Pink and nodded once. "Very well." She pressed a single button on the table and the hologram of Earth lit up red in several places. "Here we have several pockets of the resistance moving in on facts two and six, we believe the structures there may be in danger of capture or scuttling. Thus, we have sent the necessary measures and reinforcements to those positions."

"How about the galaxy warp?" Pink asked.

The other agate, of the thunder egg variety, shook her head. "The site's been impossible to secure. Every time we manage to drive off the forces and begin reconstruction, the rebels immediately hit someone where else and force us to spread our forces from the site to defend it. Then almost as quickly they route the remaining forces and break the warp pads all over again. We've considered leaving a permutant guard there, but data suggests that such an action would leave many other sites vulnerable with no flexibility of troop movement."

These agates hadn't actually been popped by Pink. When the rebellion began, Yellow had sent them to serve under her. And they were good, very good. Had the rebellion not been backed by Pink herself it likely would have been wiped out within a scant few decades, possibly with years. But, as it was, the rebels managed to stay a single step ahead of both of them, at least for now.

"I see." Pink then turned to Amethyst. "Soldier! What is the readiness of the troops?" she asked.

The purple gem snapped to attention. "My Diamond! The quartz soldiers are ready to move with purpose and for the glory of the Diamonds!"

Making the Amethyst into one of her commanding gems had also been somewhat controversial on Pink's part. But Yellow allowed it on the grounds that she would have a keener understanding of troops then built-to-command gems like the agates. She also became an aspiration for her peers to become better, a living example of what could happen if one did well in the eyes of the Diamonds.

"I see. Send troops where necessary, and squads X3A through X3D to facet three, our forces are looking a bit thin there as well."

"As you wish, my Diamond." The two agates responded simultaneously.

Pink nodded and turned to leave when one of them spoke up. "Pardon me, my Diamond."

Pink turned back to her. "What is it?"

"The reinforcements that Yellow Diamond promised have arrived. And they came with something special." Thunder Egg said before pulling out what looked like a hand mirror.

"What is that?" Pink asked, her voice coming out hollowed and harsh sending a chill down the four gems backs at the sudden tone change.

But the agate remained cool as Iris spoke up. "It's a mirror, my Diamond." Thunder Egg turned it around and revealed what looked like a malleable inlet where a gem of any shape and relative size could fit. "You place a gem here that's lost their physical form and they must then answer and questions posed to it."

"You want to use this for interrogation then, of the gems we've managed to capture." Pink concluded.

"That is what it's for, yes."

"Excuse me." With that Pink left the room and the agates turned to each other in confusion while Flint looked concernedly towards the door.

Pink quickly made her way back to her console and opened a line to her sister. After a few moments, Yellow's face appeared before her, looking unamused, an expression currently mirrored by Pink. "What have you done?"

Yellow raised a single brow at that. "To what are you referring?"

"You're copying White Diamond's mirror?"

Yellow's face barely changed, her eyes only minutely narrowing. "I have."

"Why?"

"It occurred to me that we need more information on these rebels, and but interrogation thus far has been unsuccessful, so we needed a new tool, a new technique, hence the mirror." She explained.

"How will this help anything?" Pink asked.

"I've altered White's original designs. The mirror functions in such a way that it compels the one inside it to answer questions posed to it. If they do not, they feel immense pain, but can never lose their physical form, being already a gem." Her older sister went on.

Pink now looked disgusted. "That's horrible."

"That's the point." Yellow countered. "You've been going too easy on these rebels, we need a way to end this war quickly."

"But Yellow this is-"

"Enough, Pink." Yellow said cutting her off. "Use the mirrors and end this war, Yellow Diamond out."

Yellow Diamond sat upon her throne, tapping its side with a single finger in thought. She then accessed the communication's line again and sent a call out. Within moments Blue Diamond picked up, looking somewhat surprised at the call but none the less happy for it.

"Yellow, I wasn't expecting your call. What is it?" she asked politely.

"It's our youngest sister-" Yellow began.

"Oh! Nothing's happened to her, has it?" Blue asked concerned.

"No, she's fine. But the rebellion on her colony still rages on with no end in sight." Yellow explained. "And when I send her troops or tools to aid her, she only seems to complain."

"Well she always was a bit… different." Blue said, putting it as best as she could.

"She's soft Blue, always has been. She doesn't like fighting, or commanding or… anything that a Diamond should!" Yellow vented. "And worst of all, I think she may sympathize with these rebels."

"No! She'd never act against us!" Blue defended vehemently.

"It's difficult to say Blue, the gems she engineered, these 'Rose Quartzes', the best of them turned on her. And yet, she almost never talks about them in such a way that she's betrayed or even angry at them." Yellow said. "Somewhere in her, I think Pink may not want to fight them at all."

"Should we step in then? Force her to leave?" Blue asked.

"No, I don't think it's reached that point, not yet." Yellow replied. "But it did give me an idea. Perhaps it is time to give this place up as a colony world."

Blue's face became quizzical. "What do you mean?"

Yellow smiled a knowing smile. "Do you still have those plans concerning the gem shards?"

Blue seemed apprehensive in answering. "I do. But I've sealed them away."

"Unseal them. I think it's time we put them to use." Yellow said as she brought up her own old sealed files on the weapon she'd developed so long ago.


Finished. Anyways let's see what questions I get to answer… huh. I thought there'd be more, are you really not all that interested? Is my story really so obvious and boring?

Well, for the one actual question that was asked.

- Guest - I can't really say about if she will heal or not, but Yellow Diamond does keep White updated from time to time, but is not necessarily telling her everything.