A way off Homeworld.
The words stuck in Blue Zircon's head like a song she'd heard a hundred times, but she didn't want them to leave. Silently, she and Yellow Zircon followed 5XU out of the terminal, down the corridors of the station until they reached a rusted ladder at the end of a hall. The ladder took them up, and up, and up into a ceaseless tunnel until Zircon's arms were burning and she was pretty sure that they had long since left the transport station, perhaps even in a different level of the Underworld.
"Where does this ladder even go?" Yellow was the first to ask.
"Up," said 5XU. Zircon glanced down at Yellow just in time to see her roll her eyes.
"What a fool am I," mumbled Yellow. "Didn't even guess."
After a long time, 5XU finally climbed up over a ledge and helped the zircons as well. The place seemed to be some sort of hodgepodge communications center, cobbled together from several different time periods. Ancient, bulky LED screens lined the walls, all of them off. Levers, antennae, and scanners cluttered the desks. In the center of the circular, low-cielinged space was a holoprojector and panel from back when Zircon had just been made. The bottom of 5XI — Zircon assumed it was 5XI — hung out of a large barrel.
"U, I can't find the spare comm line," 5XI complained, her voice echoing in the barrel. "Did you take it? And if you did, may I respectfully ask who in Homeworld you're gonna call with a bounty on your head?"
"Don't have it," said 5XU. "I do have the zircons."
5XI stood up out of the barrel, her hair a little messier than usual. "You don't say?" she grinned to the newcomers. "Where's Berry Team?"
"On their way."
"Good enough. Get over here and help me patch this signal through. Zircons, don't touch anything."
"Or you'll do what?" Yellow tested.
"Push you down the ladder," said 5XU without a beat. Yellow shrugged.
"That's fair."
A minute of button-pressing later, a screen blew up above the holoprojector, filling much of the room and fizzing with static. There was more button-pressing. Some swears on the part of the peridots. Then two red faces appeared on the screen and came into focus — two rutiles, seemingly sitting in the same pilot's chair.
"This is Rutile," said the left one.
"And this is Rutile," said the right, "answering from the repurposed Sun Incinerator!"
"What can we do for you today?" finished the left.
"Yeah, we're looking for the space pirate Lars," said 5XI.
"We have a Lars," said Right Rutile.
"We definitely do," said Left. "So who are you?"
"Well, I am Peridot, Facet 2F5L, Cut 5XI, and this is my coworker, 5XU. The two clods in the back are just some random zircons. We're here on behalf of Cranberry Tourmaline."
"Oh, yes!" said Left. "We were waiting for you."
"Lars is busy right now," put in Right. "Dueling with Emerald in the storage unit."
Left nodded. "We're waiting for the signal that she's out before jumping to hyperspace."
Suddenly, a great explosion shook their end of the transmission, sending them both toppling over. "What the — " 5XI started.
"Are you guys okay?!" cried 5XU.
After a second, the two rutiles stood in the field of the camera...except… no. There was just one. Despite herself, Zircon let out an audible gasp. The rutiles' body was conjoined from the ribcage down, splitting off just above her Y-shaped navel gem. Conjoined twins...of course. Cherry Ruby had mentioned them before. Looking at them now, Zircon was struck by their courage; most gems with such a defect wouldn't even dare show their faces, and yet, here Rutile was, proudly answering on behalf of a space pirate. No wonder the Underworld rebels held Lars' Off-Colors in such high esteem.
Not everyone, however, shared in the admiration.
"Ew, that's disgusting!" 5XI burst.
"What...IS that?!" yelped Yellow Zircon.
Both sides of Rutile looked between 5XI and Yellow, eyes wide. Hastily, Blue Zircon chimed in, "NOBODY SAID ANYTHING! How are you today?"
Before either could respond, a ball of orange fluff wandered in right behind them. "Everyone! I have just forseen wonderful news! Four ambassadors of Cranberry Tourmaline will contact us!" the little orange gem cried. A larger, four-armed fuschia gem came up behind her and picked her up.
"You are REALLY behind today," said the fuschia fusion.
"Hold on tight! One of Emerald's missiles will hit our shields!"
"We know, Padparadscha."
Padparadscha. The same little one that had been with Lars when he broke into Cranberry's facility...and just missed Zircon. For some reason, the sapphire's voice filled Zircon with an unspeakable joy. She was almost safe. She was talking with off-colors, rebels like her, who made it off Homeworld in one piece. She was so close; she could almost see the unknown of space stretching before her now…
Behind Rutile, somewhere in the bridge, a new voice called out. "Emerald...has been...jettisoned...into space," said the voice slowly, as simple as if commenting on how nice the day was. Both rutiles grinned.
"Yes, Fluorite!" said Left Rutile, and Right finished, "Lars did it! Preparing to jump to hyperspace!"
"Where are you going?" asked 5XU.
Both rutiles shrugged, one after the other. "Anywhere else but here," said Right.
"Probably dead space," suggested Left.
"Yes, I like that," nodded Right, and they reached forward to pull a lever.
"Now we just gotta wait for the three slumps who called for this transmission in the first place," 5XI grumbled.
As if on cue, there was a great CRASH, then a very loud "SCHIST!" and another crash. Alarmed, both zircons and peridots rushed to the ladder chute and looked down. Far below, just pink specks on the ground, were Raspberry Quartz and Cranberry Tourmaline.
"HEY! ARE YOU GUYS OKAY?!" yelled 5XI.
"NO," yelled Raspberry back, faint and echoing.
"We're fine!" replied Cranberry tensely. "I apologize on behalf of Raspberry's fat mass for breaking your ladder!"
"Stars sakes," 5XU murmured. Muttering under their breaths, she and 5XI lifted their limb enhancers above their heads, activated their helicopter fingers, and descended down the ladder chute. While they helped Cranberry and Raspberry, Cherry Ruby calmly levitated up into the communications hub and landed gracefully next to Zircon.
"I t — tried to tell them," said Ruby mildly.
On the projected screen, Rutile gasped. "It's Cherry!" said Left.
"Hello, Cherry!" smiled Right.
As if someone had poked her with the business end of a destabilizer, Ruby leapt two feet into the air and yelped. "AH! Rutile! I — ah — d, d, don't look at me!"
Then she scrambled behind Zircon and hugged her leg. The rutiles exchanged confused glances, then shrugged.
"You're...WELCOME," came the voice of 5XI, as she hauled a scowling Raspberry Quartz out of the ladder chute and onto the floor beside the zircons. 5XU followed with Cranberry, who landed on her feet and dusted off her dress. A smile lit Cranberry's face when she saw the screen.
"Rutile," she said. "It's so good to see you again!"
"Good to see you too, Officer," nodded Right.
"Always a pleasure," added Left. "The captain will be here soon!"
They looked down and began pressing things on an unseen dashboard, and the screen faded out into static for a second. Then Zircon and the others were looking upon the bridge of a bright green ship. Rutile sat in the pilot's (pilots'?) seat; Padparadscha to the left of them, and the magenta fusion to the right. An elevated captain's seat occupied the center of the bridge, currently unoccupied.
A second later, the bridge doors opened and a pale pink figure strode out, swathed in black and rich maroon. Zircon's hand floated up to her mouth. When she imagined meeting Lars again, she had set it at the same level of awkward as their first encounter, that being somewhere unexpected, with him dressed in rags and her bewildered beyond speech. Now it was just the second one — Lars, it seemed, was doing very well. He wore a high captain's cape and uniform, made of real fabric by the looks of it, with delicate gold embroidery and a polished, shining belt buckle. He walked with authority and reclined in the captain's seat with pride, as if he had been made to lead. If Zircon didn't know better, she would have assumed he was a rare officer, perhaps even a consultant to a Diamond. Not a mere human.
Echoing Blue Zircon's thoughts, Yellow Zircon's jaw had fallen open. "That's...not…"
The pink captain looked up, his eyes going straight to the zircons. "Sure is," he smirked. "Captain Lars of the Stars, at your service. How's it going, Cranberry? And Raspberry Quartz. Don't you look as sweet as ever."
Raspberry's cheeks darkened. "I could crush you," she said, but she was smiling.
"Lars, we need your help as possible," said Cranberry. "Ever since we started sheltering Blue Zircon, we've had more close calls than ever. Strawberry Quartz has done the best she could in deflecting attention, but Cherry says discovery is inevitable. And very soon."
A shadow of doubt crossed Lars' face. "How soon is soon?"
"Best case scenario?" asked Raspberry.
"Three rotations," replied Cranberry.
"What about worst?" said Lars.
Nobody responded. Then Cherry Ruby whispered, "Two hours."
Lars looked down. "Rhodonite," he said, "calculate the safest and quickest way to Homeworld."
"There's not many options, captain," replied Rhodonite, her four eyes wide. "Fluorite reports from downstairs that Emerald's missile took out our cloaking system...we need to stop for repairs before we make any more dives, or we're space dust!"
"Oh," said Cranberry, crestfallen.
"No, we can still do this, murmured Lars. "What we need is a ship already in the area that's big enough for all of Cranberry's rebels, but which can get past Diamond sensors."
"Ahh," said Left Rutile.
"I know who you're thinking," said Right.
Lars snapped his fingers. "Yep. We know a girl who owes me a few favors. How many gems in your party?"
"Twelve," said Raspberry.
"Thirteen," corrected Cranberry. "You forgot Calcite."
Raspberry gave her a silt-eating grin. "No, I didn't. YOU forgot Tiger's Eye."
Cranberry sighed. "Twelve. Including a recent permafusion."
"Perfect," said Lars. "I'll let my contact know. So if you get a call from a space pirate asking for your coordinates, give 'em."
Cranberry began to say alright, but then Lars added, "Wait! One more thing. We received a transmission from two topazes. She was part of the extraction team that took me and...and Rose Quartz from Earth."
"Is she hostile?" Raspberry folded her arms.
"I wasn't sure at first. But she tried to help me and Rose escape. When she heard that we escaped on our own, she called to say she's glad. But Yellow Diamond is cracking down on every gem who has come in contact with Rose Quartz, and Topaz is getting scared. Before you meet my contact, can you rendezvous with her?"
Raspberry and Cranberry exchanged glances before saying in unison, "We can." Raspberry added, "Thank you, Captain."
"No. Thank you. And I'm sorry we have to do this." Lars inhaled shakily, and for another brief moment Zircon caught a shimmer in his bravado. "I know what it's like to leave your home." Cranberry's lips pressed together and her hand joined with Raspberry's. But neither said anything. Lars' gaze drifted as if searching for someone on their side of the screen, and locked gazes with the zircons.
"I think...that's it," said Lars to Raspberry and Cranberry. "But can I speak to the zircons? Privately?"
"Of course," said Cranberry, mildly surprised. "I suppose, um, we'll meet you back at the base then." She was trying to talk to the zircons while avoiding Blue Zircon's gaze. Hm. Without another word, Raspberry led Cranberry to the ladder chute, picked her up bridal-style, and jumped down and out of sight. Ruby hastened after them.
"We should pro'lly fix that ladder," 5XU suggested, and so the peridots activated their helicopter fingers and descended down also. Blue and Yellow Zircon were left alone with the transmission.
"If you're going to scold me for bubbling your head, Captain," said Yellow Zircon, offering the title with disdain, "I am deeply regretful of my actions. Also, if you don't believe it, then I didn't do it at all."
Judging by the look on Lars' face, he didn't buy either statement. "Right," he said slowly. "So are you staying just so you can insult me, or do you want to hear what I have to say about Rose Quartz? Because you can go."
Yellow Zircon never flinched, just folded her arms and rolled her eyes. But she stayed firmly put.
"This is about Rose Quartz?" asked Blue Zircon.
Lars nodded, but hesitated. "I have something I gotta get off my chest. I didn't tell the others because they've got enough on their plates as it is, but I feel like you two would wanna know."
"Know what?" Yellow said.
A chill ran under Zircon's gem. "Did something happen to her?!"
"I mean," stammered Lars, "not really? Well, kind of, yes."
"But she's still in one piece?" Blue said cautiously.
"Well...no."
Zircon could have proofed right there. All of this...for nothing? It couldn't be. Her form felt like a black hole, tearing itself apart from the inside out. It just couldn't be...
Then Lars' eyes widened. "It's not like THAT!" he blustered. "Rose had a son! That's what I was gonna say. The Rose you met during the trial, he's okay."
But it was no more reassuring. "Rose Quartz conquered an ENTIRE SUN?!"
Lars frowned. "Well, yeah, it wasn't, like, a half sun, and 'conquered' isn't exactly the word I'd use..."
Meanwhile, Yellow Zircon's eyes were almost bulging out of her head. "Then the legends of her power are true," she murmured reverently. "To harness the blazing, burning power of an entire SUN..."
"Wait — OH! No, no, not that kind of sun!" Lars yelped.
"There are other kinds of suns?" Yellow interrupted.
"Like — a — a SUPERGIANT SUN?!" Blue cried.
"NO! SON. S-O-N, son. It's something that humans normally have so we can reproduce. 'Cause we don't have Kindergartens. A son is a new human that has been made by two older humans. I don't know how, but Rose Quartz figured out how to have a son like humans do, and that's the kid that you put on trial."
The zircons fell silent. Suddenly, Zircon wasn't sure if that was better or worse than Rose shattering, or having a star at her disposal.
"So...Rose Quartz is still out there?" asked Zircon, her voice small, with fading hope.
Lars hesitated again. "I don't know. Rose Quartz's gem is still in the body of her son. But it's not her body or her mind. Those are just...gone. Besides a few gem powers, the kid you met is a young human boy named Steven Quartz Universe. With his own mind and body."
More silence. It made sense. Too much. Why Rose — or Not-Rose — didn't know how Pink Diamond had been shattered. Her strange appearance modifiers. Her obvious ignorance of the Homeworld legal system. "So she doesn't have Rose's memories? None of them?"
Lars shook his head. "No. But he's still TRYING to be Rose. That's why he testified as her."
"But Rose didn't just say that in COURT!" Yellow snapped. "What about the eyewitness? Has she just been gallivanting across the galaxy, telling some gems that she's Rose Quartz, but not others?"
"YES! I mean, not really, but — I don't know! And I don't think Steven does either!" Lars rubbed his forehead. "Stars' sakes. I didn't even know I COULD get headaches in this new body."
"Everyone's just getting new bodies nowadays," Yellow drawled.
"This is why I'm telling you two," said Lars. "Because as soon as you get to earth, you're gonna want to ask him questions. But...he's in really, really deep emotional schist right now. And he's only, like, ten years old. Imagine being ten years old and having an entire planet telling you that you're a criminal and you need to die, even though you never did anything wrong."
"Oh," Zircon murmured. Suddenly, her gem ached. She remembered a young, eccentric starlite zircon, barely a century old, who she had mentored for a time...the thought of her with a false death sentence on her shoulders was too much to bear.
"Yeah." Lars hung his head. "Anyway. Um. You guys should probably get going. Topaz is waiting, and my contact is already on her way.
"Thank you, Captain," said Zircon, almost without thinking. Lars nodded, the transmission faded out, and the communications room went dark and cold.
A hand pressed against hers.
"Hey," said Yellow. "The transmission's over. You don't need to stare into empty air anymore."
Zircon blinked and shook her head. "I know," she replied, and then, inadvertently, whispered the name: "Steven."
i am SO SORRY AT HOW LATE THIS CHAPTER IS HOLY JEEZ. final exams and college app deadlines hit me like a dump truck and ive been SICK for all of winter break so far hhhhhh
but ANYWAY! LARS IS HERE! AND THINGS ARE GONNA HAPPEN! oh jeez things are gonna happen. the ending of this fic is like 90% planned from here, i am aiming to finish this fic somewhere around 33 chapters. technically, 30 chapters and 3 parts of an epilogue, but thats for me to know and y'all to enjoy when it happens. trust me theres a point to it.
two more things:
1.) I GOT BORED AND MADE TWO TWITTERS — one for all updates on my fanfic writing, including the latest update days, commentary, and some fun facts. if you read my author's notes at all i STRONGLY recommend following the account fortissimo_fics.
the second twitter is a zircon roleplay twitter called Starlite_Lawyer. i just think its funny and if you like this fic at all i think you'll like it. if you dont like this fic idk why youre here
2.) i have released my first bonus story for this universe! there will undoubtedly be more. this one is called "The Last and the First" and it is about two ocs, Black Zircon and Cocoa Brown Zircon, who are very much in love when they shouldnt be. i have just posted it in my profile and if you havent, PLEASE check it out, i am very proud of it and i hope you will enjoy as much as i do!
meanwhile i do NOT know when new chapters will be out but (again) updates will be announced on fortissimo_fics. and now that i am on break, i hope to be writing more. thank you all for your patience and feedback on this story, couldn't do it without you!
