Chapter 29, man it's hard to come up with one word titles.
I don't own Steven Universe.
Chapter 29: End
Four hundred ninety-nine years later…
Time was running out.
One way or the other, soon everything would be over. The war, the rebellion, the farce, everything.
And unfortunately for Pink, no outcome was looking favorable.
If the rebellion won and pushed the empire off Earth, Yellow would simply destroy it with the Cluster, effectively acting as a living bomb.
If the empire somehow managed to win, it would mean that all this was a waste of time. All Pink's efforts, all the gems who died for the sake of even a modicum of change… all for naught.
Things weren't sitting well with either of her sisters either. Blue had just about had it, displaying frustration over the tenacity of the rebellion, agreeing with Yellow more and more that planting the Cluster was the best option as the years dragged on. She had already returned to homeworld to prepare transport of the gruesome thing while Homeworld was driven back farther and farther.
Then there was Jasper, dear and loyal Jasper. Pink had no idea what to think of her anymore. When she had learned of the orange gem's indifference to the planet's suffering she had made it a point to make her as useless as possible, placing her in strategically insignificant places or guardian essentially unimportant things.
Yet somehow Jasper had still made a name for herself. Somehow gaining what little glory that could be gained in what was essentially no man's land. Usually by going out by herself and stumbling upon a rebel scout party.
After that Pink, had tried to place her in the most dangerous of places as a "reward" for proving herself.
Boy did that backfire.
No matter the situation, no matter the odds, nothing stopped her. Ambush on patrols, entire legions laying sieges to bases, a fight a hundred to one, it didn't matter. Jasper had gotten through it all and beaten the odds. And with her success came renown, so much that she even overshadowed Flint's earlier accomplishments in the war. Whispers went on up and down the halls, speaking of the "Invincible Jasper" the "Ultimate Quartz".
So, to keep up appearances while temporarily solving the problem, Jasper had been "promoted" to be her personal bodyguard for the last two hundred years. A job Jasper took quite… seriously, to say the least. She was nearly always by her side, especially when outside her own private quarters, and sometimes not even then. The quartz often barked and berated her fellow gems especially when she thought they weren't being respectful enough to the Diamond, even though if anything Pink preferred the informality.
She had often tried again and again to instill an appreciation for the planet and towards other gems, but that had minimal success. At best, she tolerated the lesser gems and the life on Earth at worst she seemed utterly disgusted by it, not understanding Pink's own fascination with it.
Why didn't she pop for Yellow instead?
Still, even with her… shall we say lack of empathy, Jasper did have some good points too. For one, while she looked down on many, she did acknowledge gems she thought were in her own words "worth the dirt they crawled out from", treating them with respect and not allowing a bad word about them from anyone, not even each other. She was stubborn, but that made her persistent, never allowing a task to go untended to for very long. She showed no fear but never acted recklessly, a peerless warrior and a tactician even in the midst of battle. She allowed anger to fuel her might but never allowed it to run amok, instead using it to drive her forward towards her target. She was unmoving in her mind, and sure of her convictions, and speaking them aloud even if it wasn't what people wanted to hear. She was arrogant, but it often gave confidence to those around her in the midst of battle.
If she had shorter hair and a greyer physique, Pink would have sworn up and down Flint had a twin.
But, despite their differences, Pink had gotten close with her, after all how could one not after so long together?
Pink would often pose questions about what Jasper thought of the war, or of other gems, or even their society as a whole, and sometimes Jasper even surprised her. She seemed like she trusted the Diamond authority like most gems, but also wasn't afraid to point out the glaring flaws if she thought they were there.
Jasper, in turn, would often question Pink about her fascination with the organics or why they were still fighting so long for just one planet, or even what her plans were after the war was over. Sometimes she'd explain things for a purely objective standpoint, pointing out how much good could come from orgic interaction. But other times, Pink would allow her personal ties to slip, dropping hints here and there about the full extent of her powers.
And sometimes, they'd talk about nothing. It would simply be the small talk that happens between friends every now and then.
These little sessions of theirs would sometimes last hours, and they'd often revisit subjects they'd already had, coming up with new questions or ideas. Something that Pink had found surprising about Jasper, who Pink had once thought a warrior and nothing else. But even if Jasper herself thought that, the young Diamond could see so much more. It was a shame she'd never change, but Pink would never ask it of her either. Not just because of the obvious inherent risk, but because Pink didn't want Jasper to compromise her ideals, who she was, simply because a Diamond, her Diamond, had ordered it of her.
In fact, the way Pink thought of Jasper now, it made her ashamed she had ever thought of getting rid of her as if she was nothing more than a disposable soldier, easily replaced. And the fact that that thought crossed her mind for even a moment brought concern to Pink. Was it a side effect of her sisters influence perhaps? Or was it simply her true Diamond nature shining through? She certainly didn't want to think of gems of any kind as disposable, especially not consciously, but war had jaded Pink. What was supposed to be a rebellion where her sisters gave up easily, earliest ten years latest a hundred, had turned into a long war of attrition for both sides.
The empire kept pulling gems from colony worlds until they were nearly deserted, flinging everyone they could at the problem. Meanwhile, on the rebellion's side, Rose had had to have mastered her powers of healing, and then not only that but be able to replicate it in other forms. A side with virtually no limit to the number of its troops versus one that could keep using the troops it had indefinitely, and neither had given an inch for centuries.
But everything changed for the rebellion when they had gotten their sapphire. And little by little, inch by inch the rebellion had managed to push the empire all the way back to its last Earth outpost, and it was looking like they would soon strike.
Meanwhile her sisters had sent word that Blue was now on her way back with the Cluster in tow, and that Pink was to meet her in secret, out in neutral territory. The plan was to put up a "noble last stand" and finally allow the rebellion their victory, while on the other side they implemented the cluster, and after a century or two, BAM, no more Earth.
There were just a few last messages to compose, and then Pink would be off. And… done. She sent them off, trusting they would reach her friends in time.
With a final deep breath, Pink stood from the console, and departed from the control room, ready to depart at last.
Jasper was waiting for Pink aboard her ship, giving her usual smile, a mix of genuine pleasure and pride. She gave a salute as Pink waved her off. Sitting down Jasper then turned to the pilot. "Let's get moving!" And with that, they blasted off towards Earth.
Rose sat quietly in her room, simply allowing the pink mists to swirl and ebb around her. At long last, it was almost over. The thousands… no, tens of thousands of gems who'd given their lives for the cause, it was all about to be made worthwhile. The empire would be pushed off, Earth would be free, both for the life living here and for the gems who'd made it their new home.
But did that mean she should use… it?
A century and a half earlier…
Rose walked down the heated hallway of Bismuth's personal workshop, the multi-colored gem had called her here for something, a "surprise" she had said.
She found her old friends waiting for her with a smile that left Pink feeling uneasy.
"Rose! You've finally come!" She said walking up and embracing her.
"Bismuth, you've been cooped up here so long, some of us were getting worried." Rose replied.
The smile only grew wider. "Ah, what's a few decades between friends?" she asked. "But anyways, let's get down to 'bismuth' shall we?" she said chuckling at her own bad joke. She motioned over to the center of the room and transformed her hand into a 4-pronged key, unlocking something with an audible click and causing them to descend into a magma chamber of some sort.
This was a part of Bismuth's workshop Rose had never seen, but she said nothing. "The weapon, the one I've been making, the one I've spent centuries on? I've done it! It's complete!" Bismuth said with barely contained excitement. She walked over to the nearby wall and plucked something out of it, then turned around and showed Rose.
The weapon looked like some sort of piston with a point. "What is it?" Rose asked.
"I like to call it the 'Breaking Point'." Bismuth replied excitedly. "Oh, you have no idea how long it took to make this thing perfect for use, but now its ready for anything."
"And what exactly can it do?"
The smile again. "Let me show you." Bismuth stepped on a switch in the floor and magma flowed free into dummy casts, hardening before being pushed forward by some kind of mechanism. "We are the Crystal Gems! AND NOTHING WILL STAND IN OUR WAY!" she bellowed before the piston pulled back and shot forward with a blinding speed, penetrating the dummy and leaving a circular hole for a brief moment before it crumbled to nothing.
Bismuth turned around on Rose, a wild look on her eye as Rose just blinked disbelievingly. "You… shattered it."
"I know, isn't it great?" the multicolored gem replied with the same giddiness. "Imagine it, hundreds of our gems all armed with one of these babies. Homeworld would be driven off of Earth inside a month."
"And all those gems, would be shattered… lost forever."
The smile turned to anger. "No less then they deserve!" Bismuth barked back. "Or did you forget Echo Base already?"
Pink had not, but said nothing, did nothing only gazed at Bismuth. But the multi-colored gem didn't give in so easily. "Here, try it for yourself." She took off the breaking point and handed it to Rose.
The quartz gazed at the weapon and then put it on. Bismuth tapped another one of the rock dummies and Rose walked up to it. She aimed it, hesitating for a moment then pulled down. The piston acted again and just like before absolutely destroyed the dummy.
Rose then turned back to her smith whose grin had come back with vengeance. "See? Isn't it amazing? And just think within only a few months I could have hundreds of these produced, and then nothing could stop us ever again." The grin got wider. "In fact, we could shatter Blue and Pink Diamond here! Before they have a chance to escape! Then go to Homeworld and finish off White and Yellow Diamond too! We could free everyone! Everywhere!"
And in one brief moment, Rose saw it. She saw the potential she had in her hand, the changes she could make, the good she could do. But to shatter a gem… what it would mean… what she would become…
Finally, Rose lowered the weapon, taking it off and handing it back to Bismuth who looked at her curiously. "Bismuth, this isn't the way. We fight to defend ourselves, to defend our home."
"But this can help us do that!" The multi-colored gem argued. "If we have this kind of power no one will ever try and harm our friends again!"
"Shattering gems is not what the Crystal Gems should be about, what a Crystal Gem would do." Rose replied, earning a sneer from Bismuth.
"Don't you tell me what a Crystal Gem would do! I've watched thousands of my friends die, right before my eyes." She held up the breaking point. "This will make sure that never happens again!"
"Bismuth, I want you to lock that away and never speak of it again." Rose ordered. "This isn't how we're going to win. This isn't right."
Bismuth glowered. "No."
Rose blinked before getting a slightly angered look on her face. "What did you say to me?"
"I said 'No'" Bismuth repeated, holding up the breaking point. "This has the power to end the war, to save our friends. And if you don't like it, fine, I'll use it myself. When everyone else sees how many lives I saved by having the better weapon, then we'll see if they feel the same as you."
Rose was silent for a good long time, before a smile suddenly graced her features, kind and genuine. "You know Bismuth, you're right."
This caught her off guard. "What?" she asked.
"It shouldn't just be left to me, we're a team, and the others should have a say about whether or not we use it or not." She said sweetly.
Bismuth blinked in surprise but her smile came back. "Ah! I knew you'd come around! You won't regret it Rose, just give me a chance and I'll prove I'm not wrong!"
"I'm sure you won't, Bismuth." Rose replied. "Say, how long does it take to make one of those?"
Bismuth rubbed the back of her head. "I know I said I could make a bunch in a short time, but it actually takes a bit of finesse, still with the right materials maybe I could make a mold or something for easier creation, I'd have to think about it."
"And the lever on the breaking point felt a bit stiff, do you mind checking for yourself?" Rose asked.
Bismuth looked at her creation, studying it for a moment then shrugging her shoulders, maybe testing it again would fix the problem. She walked over to a third dummy an d positioned the breaking point for firing. "Let's see if we can't-HURK!" Bismuth looked down to see a pink blade protruding from her chest.
She turned around to see Rose, looking sorrowfully at her. "For what it's worth Bismuth, I'm sorry it had to come to this. I'll tell them all you fell bravely in battle."
The multi-colored gems face contorted. "Rose…! You-"
POOF
Her gem and the weapon hit the floor with dull thuds. Rose bent down and bubbled the gem but then picked up the breaking point and walked over to the magma's edge, holding it above the molten fire for a few brief moments. "I should destroy this thing, it's an abomination." She said aloud, as if wanting to convince herself. But, Bismuth had a point. There may come a day when she needed such a weapon of destruction. So instead she laid it down in the middle of the rock outcropping on which she stood.
"I hope I never have to see that thing again."
Rose was broken from her trance-like state as she heard someone wanting to get in, from the Crystal Base side.
Rose departed the room to see Pearl and Garnet waiting for her. "So, is it time."
Garnet nodded solemnly. "This is our chance." She paused, putting a hand on her shoulder. "There's still time, we don't have to do this."
Rose sighed, gripping the hand on her shoulder firmly, and looking to Garnet. "Yes, we do. And you know we do."
The fusion nodded once. "I know, it's just…" she paused again.
Rose only smiled to her wearily. "I know." She then looked to Pearl. "Are you ready?"
Pearl only looked back to Rose sadly. "As I'll ever be. If you say this is the way, I'll follow you."
Rose put her hands on both their shoulders. "One way or another, this all ends today." She then looked to each of them, tears in her eyes. "If… If I don't-"
"No!" Garnet said, tears welling up behind her glasses. "Don't you even say that! Don't even think it!"
Pearl chimed in, her eyes watered up. "That's right we're going to make it through this, all of us!"
Rose then embraced them. "I can never thank you guys enough, for being here with me."
The three allowed the moment to last for as long as they could, dreading what came next.
Pink ship landed and Jasper was first off the ramp. "Alright, when is Blue… wait a minute." She looked around, they had landed inside their last major base on Earth. "What are we doing here?"
"I asked them to come here, Jasper." Pink replied, stepping off the ship herself.
"Why? This isn't where we're supposed to go to meet Blue Diamond."
"I know. That's because you're staying here, Jasper." Pink informed.
"What? Why?" she asked.
"The rebels are on the move, and their attack here is imminent." Pink replied. "And with that in mind we need all the gems we can spare to keep this place from falling, I trust no one more to keep that from happening that you."
Jasper actually blushed at that. "I… thank you my Diamond, but what about you?"
Pink smiled kindly to her. "I'll be fine, Jasper. I still have a contingent with me. And as soon as I'm done, I'm come right back, I promise." The orange quartz looked saddened and Pink pout a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, I'm counting on you, don't let me down, alright?"
Jasper smiled genuinely. "Never."
Pink nodded. "Good." With that she turned around and left her ship taking off towards the horizon.
Pink Diamond descended to the ground in her palanquin with about two dozen soldiers as escort, this was the spot Blue had designated, out by a cliff. The young Diamond didn't know if her sister had picked this place on purpose, but the view was gorgeous. Strong trees she could make out in a valley far below.
Her communicator went off and she answered it, the small holographic form of her sister appeared before her. "Pink, I'm almost there. I should arrive in … minutes."
Pink eyed the communicator carefully. "Sorry, didn't catch that, how long?"
"I ..id … minu…" Blue replied as her holographic form began to fade become like static.
"Blue?" Pink asked but the hologram faded entirely. "Hey! What's happened?" Pink asked peering outside her palanquin.
Other soldiers were looking at their own communicators. "We don't know, my Dimond, communications aren't getting through."
"What is-"
KA-BANG
The group's attention was caught as in the distance a streak of light sored across the sky and the just as it collided with Pink's ship's hull.
KRAKA-BOOM!
The projectile tore right through the ship, leaving a gaping hole before the ship started to explode all across its side, falling from the air and landing in valley below and exploding.
"Enemy fire!" shouted one of her gems. "We got anti-aircraft! Protect the Diamond!"
High in the Exosphere…
Blue Diamond looked around as all her gems were working furiously on their control panels. "What's happened?" she demanded.
"My Diamond! Communications have been jammed! Anti-aircraft shots detected! We can't get any closer!" One of the gems called out.
Blue snarled. "Get me a visual of the ground now!" Within a moment, the picture of Pink's palanquin viewed from above was shown. "Oh no…"
Pink peered out and saw all the soldiers surrounding her palanquin, ready to defend her. Suddenly their communicators switched back on and an all too familiar voice came across.
"Pink Diamond! It ends here! The colony the war! Everything!" came the shouting voice of Rose. "This is for all the gems that have died in this pointless war!"
The communicators cut out and the gems surrounding Pink looked around, carefully watching for any enemy movement.
"There!" One ruby pointed towards the horizon, opposite the cliff, standing alone was Rose, looking determined and focused. Soon Pearl came up behind her, then Garnet, then about thirty more gems, standing side by side. Rose raised her sword, high in the air. "For Earth! For freedom! For the Crystal Gems!" Rose shouted.
"FOR THE CRYSTAL GEMS!" Others joined in before they all ran across to meet Pink's contingency who had gathered and formed ranks between them and Pink's palanquin.
Jasper walked along the walls of the base, something was bothering her, but she couldn't place the feeling. A ruby suddenly rushed towards her and saluted. "Commander Jasper! Urgent news! Rose Quartz spotted at facet sixteen mark .nine!"
The orange quartz knew exactly where that was, they were the coordinates for Pink's rendezvous with Blue Diamond. "Get me a ship!" she ordered. "I need to-"
"Enemy forces spotted north-by-northwest! Eight hundred meters and closing!" A voice over the loudspeaker informed. Jasper looked off in that direction, seeing a wave of gems running across the ground with their weapons and armaments.
Jasper gritted her teeth. Against that many forces, the base needed all the help it could get, but if she didn't get to the ambush in time. Pink's words echoed in her head just then. "No, she trusted in me, I'll do the same for her." She said under her breath. "Get your weapons ready gems! Looks like we got some rebels looking to be shattered!"
Blue watched from her ship with a mixture of outrage and anxiety. "Get closer!" she ordered.
"My Diamond, we'll be shot out of the shy if we get any closer!" Another gem pleaded.
"Then bombard the anti-aircraft armaments!" Blue bellowed.
"We can't pinpoint the location!" the gem pleaded back. "They're hiding in the trees!"
"Find them, NOW!"
"My Diamond! A transmission is being sent from the ground!" Another said.
"Put in on screen!" Blue ordered. Within seconds a screen appeared on the bridge and all present turned to watch it. A view behind Rose quartz was shown, charging at Pink's palanquin. "Why are they broadcasting this?"
The two sides clashed as they locked weapons with one another, but Rose Pearl and Garnet were near the back and weaved through them, making a straight line for Pink Diamond.
Pearl was the first to reach it, slicing one of the legs of the craft and causing it to tip on one side. It's occupant within rolled out and took to her feet giving them a irate frown.
Pearl quickly followed up, jumping high and attempting to attack Pink's face, but Pink reached into the ground below and summoned her two shields, knocking Pearl away with a swipe.
Rose came soon after slicing around Pink's mid-section but missing by inches as she stepped back. Only for Garnet to jump from Rose's shoulders and deliver a series of blows to Pink's shield.
This wasn't good, Pink was being pushed back and throw off balance. Three on one wasn't in her favor, in that case. The young Diamond jumped high into the air and when the three followed after she reached into her hair and pulled out two seeds. She launched them at high speeds towards Pearl and Garnet.
Grow
The seeds burst out into plant life and wrapped up Garnet and Pearl who fell back to the ground, trying to get them off. Rose looked behind her. "Pearl! Garnet!"
"Where do you think you're looking?!" Pink said bringing down her fist on Rose who put her shield up just in time. The rebel's leader was sent plummeting to the ground, bouncing off and skidding away as Pink landed gracefully on her feet.
Blue watched and smiled. "Yes! That's the way Pink! Finish her off!"
Pink Diamond walked calmly over to Rose, kicking her over onto her back and putting a large boot to her chest. "This is where it ends Rose. For what it's worth, I'm sorry."
Rose smiled through the pain. "Yeah… me… too…"
Pink felt a sudden pain in her leg and looked down to see Pearl stabbing it. "What? But you-" Garnet followed up, slamming her fist into Pink's and knocking her down. Pink looked over to where her plants were, they had peeled open and allowed the gems to be free. "So, you used your power to free them while I was distracted."
Rose grinned as she and the other two joined her. "Yes, now it's time to end this."
The three charged and Pink got to her feet. The attacks were coordinated and used each other's attacks to create openings. But Pink was being pushed back, losing ground and balance.
Blue's victorious smile turned to a concerned frown. "I got to get down there! She's losing!"
"My Diamond! You can't they'll blow us out of the sky!" The gems pleaded.
"Out of my way!" Blue ordered as she made her way towards the cargo ramp.
Blue Diamond opened up the ramp and the sky blasted wind inside. "My Diamond! Please reconsider!" One of the gems tried to shout to her.
Blue turned to her. "A Diamond is in danger and I have the power to save her from it! Nothing in this cosmos is going to stop me!" and with that she jumped.
Down.
Down.
Down she fell.
Through clouds and sky Blue Diamond descended. She looked to where her sister should be fighting but could barely see. But then she heard a sound… like buzzing, but sharper. Blue suddenly dodged out of the way, a streak of light passing by her. She looked down and a little way away from where Pink was fighting, in the valley cleverly hidden in the trees.
Another shot came at her but Blue rolled out of the way again and gathered the moisture in the air around her, creating sharp ice wings, allowing her to glide faster and faster.
Blue attempted to ignore the cannons, gliding towards her sister but another shot stopped her and a third came right after tearing through her water wing and sending Blue plummeting into the valley below.
One of the gunners looked off into the distance where she fell. "Did… did we get her?"
Her question was answered as they saw Blue Diamond sprinting at them full speed, water wildly waving around her.
Pink meanwhile was getting pushed back, her strikes barely keeping the three at bay. Garnet then came up, tackling Pink to the ground. The Diamond tried to get up but a sharp pain rocketed through her body and she saw where Pearl had pinned her hand to the ground. She looked to her other side and Garnet was holding her other hand down. She felt a pressure on her legs and saw Rose standing there, her arms raised and the tip of her sword positioned above Pink's gem.
All the soldiers had stopped fighting now. Everyone watched as Rose spoke. "With this! We are freed!"
CA-SHIINK!
Pink's eyes went wide. She looked down to where Rose had plunged her blade and then back to Rose, a great sorrow and remorse behind her stern focused eyes. Rose removed her sword and Pink's Diamond, now split in to begin to glow and pulsate. Brighter and faster it did this. The three got a distance away and watched as Pink's physical form faded and sputtered. Then just as the gem glowed the brightest it could, Pink opened her mouth and let loose a blood-curdling wail for the brief moment before she exploded with brilliant pink light, sending tiny shards of her gem all over the place.
There was a silence, absolute and chilling.
"We did it…" Pearl said, barely believe what had just happened.
Rose dropped her sword and shield. "It's… over…" she said before falling onto her knees then onto her face.
Garnet and Pearl rushed to her side. "Rose!" the said together. The rest of the soldiers still looked on stunned but Garnet suddenly stiffened up. "We need to get away from here, right now!" She took Rose under one arm and Pearl did the same with Rose's other arm. "Crystal Gems! Retreat!" Garnet ordered.
An Amethyst shook her head, snapping out of the trance. "Don't let them get away! They destroyed our Diamond!"
The crystal gems broke off and made for the hillside where they had come from, the Homeworld forces close behind. They entered a ship waiting for them and quickly blasted off and into the distance.
Blue Diamond looked around her, wreckage of the gun and shattered gems at her feet.
IIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE!
Blue looked up and saw a brief glow of Pink light on the cliff. Blue eyes shot open.
"No… Nononononono!" Blue summoned water tendrils that quickly allowed her to scale the cliff and she beheld a sight that would haunt her forever. She reached down and picked up a single shard of pink.
Blue felt so many emotions clash within her just then. Sorrow. Regret. Guilt. And… anger. She was… mad. Extremely, planet-shatteringly, unreasonably, enraged. Her hands shook and the sky itself chilled as ice began to form around Blue Diamond. There was only one gem who had been responsible for this.
"ROOOOOSE! QUAAAAAARTZZ!"
Done. Enjoy. Review.
Also, next chapter is last, so this is literally the last time you can ask stuff, I'll be posting in two weeks' time though instead of one. I'm sure you at least have some remaining questions.
-TheChallenger1- Look it's supposed to be in Earth years. I have no idea how Homeworld measures time and frankly it's a pain in the ass to come up with some other sort of timescale, so just take it for what it says and just pretend their referring to the time in the sense of how they measure it rather than how we measure it.
-Savannah9137- You'll find out in two weeks.
