The Unlikely Confidant
Chapter 7: Doing What I Can
A yawn boomed from Greg as he stirred from his slumber. The instance he awoke the tube opened up and exposed him to the pink lights of the zoo. He yelped at the sudden exposure of light, which caused him to react immediately by covering his eyes with his arm. Slowly he hunched over to a sitting position and rubbed his sore eyes. After a few rubs he blinked his eyes until they adjusted to the light.
"How are you feeling, Greg?"
Greg turned his attention to the right to see the one that addressed him was none other than Marina. She gave a grin of greetings towards him, whereas the other aquamarines looked at him with fascination and scrutiny. In the corner of his left eye he saw the blue pearl, whom gave a small and respectful bow to him.
"Great thanks!" Greg answered auspiciously with a smile etched on his face.
He stiffly swung his legs over the ledge of the tube-bed and stretched his arms out. His back cracked, a sound that made the pearl emit a horrified gasp. In a snap she rushed over to him to check his condition. Greg retracted back from the close proximity of the shaking pearl. She took his hand and examined it, then his arm, and she pulled at his beard, which earned her a yelp of pain from him.
"What is wrong? Are you hurt? Do you need a check-up?" the pearl catechised in alarm as she continued to poke around and check on him.
"I-I'm fine, really!" Greg assured and made another cry of pain when he felt the svelte gem prod his rib. "It's just I'm not the fittest guy on the block!"
The pearl halted her actions and, though he could not see through the bangs of her hair, stared at him with gobsmack. Fortunately Marina came to Greg's rescue by stepping between the two and swatting the blue pearl aside.
"Easy there tiny dancer, us aquamarines know human biology well enough," Marina stated, ignoring the light gasp from the pearl at the nickname she gave her. "Flesh bag just has a stiff back."
"It's just something we humans get when we don't move around a lot," Greg added with a warm smile. He rubbed the back of his head and chuckled dryly. "I'm just not fit."
Though the pearl was unsure of the term 'stiff back' and why not moving around causes this 'stiff back' the fact that her diamond's confidant was well enough relieved her. She stepped back, received an order from Marina to fetch something, and brought that something over to Greg. He took the purple item and twisted in his hand to look at it at all angles, a look of puzzlement etched on his face.
"That's what we feed the humans in the zoo," Marina answered the question that was no doubt bugging the human's head. "Just this one food will be enough to fulfil you for the entire day."
Greg's eyes gleamed at the fruit with awe. "Amazing!" He stared up at Marina with a wide grin. "Does it taste good?"
Though she tried to maintain an austere appearance Marina could not help but burst out laughing at the silly question from this ridiculous human. "We can't eat you silly flesh bag!"
Greg's cheeks reddened from sheer embarrassment as the cyan gem continued laughing at him. He opened his mouth to state that he knew that (or rather remembered that fact) but then he clamped it shut. No one knew about his association with the Crystal Gems or with any other gem, so for their safety as well as Steven's he best to keep it to himself. Without another word in fears that he would cause the entire lab to explode with laughter he took a bite of the purple fruit. Did he miss biting it? No he saw the teeth marks. So why couldn't he taste anything? He took another bite, and realized that it had no taste. Well better to have no taste than a terrible one!
After consuming the fruit he immediately felt full. Unbelievable-it was like all the food he ate to fulfil his hunger materialised in his stomach! His brown eyes took note of the pearl standing stock still, as if waiting for him to say or do something. Realizing what it was that she required he uttered his gratitude to her, which received him a reverent bow from her. Pearl would have probably shot a light smile or scoffed at him for devouring his food too quickly; this pearl though was the complete antithesis to the one Greg knew.
"So…" Greg began, waiting to see if he could speak. No one objected so he inquired to the blue pearl, "Does Blue Diamond need me for something?"
"Not as of now," the ballerina answered in her usual eloquent voice. "But whenever my diamond does not require my assistance I am required to watch over you."
Greg wasn't too surprised with that, considering he did advice the matriarch to take some time in speaking with others about her fondest memories of Pink Diamond. That could only mean that Blue Diamond was listening to him, which brought a light auspicious smile to his face. Perhaps he truly was capable of not just helping out the diamond but of hopefully changing her view and mind about gems and individuality. He may not be some fancy and skilful fighter like the Crystal Gems but he was an excellent listener and a person always eager to help.
So then… what could he do when he wasn't being a confidant?
That was a question that made him rub his beard. Well he wanted to do something, as long as it did not involve harming some gem or the Earth. Through assisting those in the zoo with something he may make some friends and teach them the wonders of freedom of thought. It would also keep him busy and healthy.
"Hey you, peridot!" Greg's attention perked when he noticed Marina going over to the addressed peridot. "Have the materials arrived at the docking bay?"
When the peridot acknowledged affirmatively Marina clapped her hands in delight. "Finally! Now they need to be brought here and all will be good!"
Greg's brown eyes sparkled and a rapturous grin grew on his face at the opportunity presented to him. He used to pick up equipment and bring them to people's homes before he became a rocker. Hopefully the materials would not be for some deadly super weapon against Earth, but the more he thought about it the more relieved he grew. There was the Cluster on Earth so no one would bother with any additional super weapon against Earth. Also, as he was informed by Marina, aquamarines only specialised in anthropology and that they had no intent in harming the humans.
"Can I be of any assistance?" Greg asked solicitously.
Marine green eyes lit up at the suggestion, and a gasp of surprise escaped the pearl's mouth.
Marina rubbed her temple and hummed in wonder. "Well I'm not against additional help. Although I must warn you that I'm going to need to consult with Holly Blue about lending me some quartzes to help out with lifting."
Greg shivered at the mention of 'Holly Blue', but then he grinned at the news of the quartzes that'll help him. He winked and shot a thumbs-up. "The more the merrier!"
"I like your style, flesh bag," Marina acknowledged with a grin, which exposed two sharp fangs that Greg had never noticed before. She looked over her shoulder and ordered, "Hey peridot! Contact HB for me will you?"
As Marina went to attend matters with Holly Blue through screen communications Greg looked over at the blue pearl with concern. Surely she would not get into trouble because of his decision to be of assistance. She didn't appear too upset, yet the pearl was a master in concealing her emotions.
"You don't mind me doing this, right?"
The svelte gem uttered, "As long as you do not endanger yourself then all is well."
Her head cocked to the side, making her look like a child that felt baffled.
"But did you not say you were not fit?"
A trio that was as bizarre as they appeared to get walked down the hallway. That trio consisted of an aquamarine, Facet-5F9L Cut-3XJ, the lead anthropologist; Blue Diamond's very own pearl, and a human that was free and appearing cheerful. It was a sight that disgusted Holly Blue as she waited with the pitiful-excuses-of-gems that were the quartzes she had hand picked. Hand picking quartz soldiers should be easy. But with Beta Kindergarteners it was impossible.
"These are the quartzes that I have handpicked," Holly declared, without even putting any effort in sounding respectful about them. "They are as useless as a shattered gem though, so I apologise if they will be disappointments to you."
There was a stupid sloppy smile on that hideous human's face. It waved towards her-no, towards the gormless quartzes! She shot a trenchant glare towards the bubbly and gleeful quartzes, which automatically ceased any pleasant mood they felt.
"They'll do. Thank you Holly Blue Agate," the aquamarine thanked.
Before Holly would happily leave these useless quartzes to be someone else's problems her attention shifted to the human. She raised an eyebrow to express her confusion.
"Why is this human with you?"
"I like to help out," the human responded before the aquamarine could, another stupid smile forming on its face.
Icy blues eyes shot up in incredulous disbelief. "Blue Diamond ordered that nothing was to happen to this human!" She reminded, her pitch high in horror and belligerence.
"Nothing bad is going to happen to flesh bag here," the aquamarine assured nonchalantly, as if oblivious to any consequences that could occur if something did happen. "Besides Blue Diamond does not require the human so why not make use of it?"
Holly scoffed at this cyan gem's ignorance. She was about to make a rebuttal but then she clamped her mouth shut and her eyes softened. This could be used to her advantage. If the human were to get into an accident, pose as a burden, or simply ignore orders from Blue Diamond then it is most probable that it may be kicked out or placed in the zoo with the rest of its pitiful kind. She had to muster every ounce of her energy to supress a wicked smirk from appearing on her face.
"Well I am not held accountable if something bad happens to the human-you will be," Holly declared austerely.
With that addressed she left the quartzes to the aquamarine and the human, her intent to find Blue Diamond and report the human for ignoring her direct orders.
Now she could smirk in triumph.
"You are not going to believe what happened to us, Greg!"
Greg glanced up the sharp-toothed amethyst, whose eyes sparkled with awe. He and the handpicked quartzes, six in total, were following Marina down to the hangar bay. Curls also appeared giggly that she was squealing with delight, most likely because she knew what Sharky was about to say.
"Well what's this spectacular news you have to share, Sharky?" Greg inquired, the amethyst's enthusiasm a contagion that spread to him and made him grin.
"Blue Diamond came to us and spoke about Pink Diamond!" Sharky said loudly, startling a few stationed guards and passing peridots, a wide grin on her face.
Brown eyes lit up at the news. Blue Diamond had listened to him and decided to try out his advice. Blue Diamond tried out his advice! A warm smile engulfed Greg's face. He honestly didn't expect the matriarch to have willingly tried out to speak with gems that she considered to be inferior, let alone about a dear someone that had passed away. Yet there was no reason to doubt Sharky's claims, as she was utterly captivated by the fact that the sovereign gem spoke to her.
He really was having an influence.
He may, bit by bit, change the monarch's views.
"That's incredible!" Greg stated honestly.
"You should have heard some of the stories she told us," Curls added enthusiastically. "You'd never believe that the diamonds could be so… quirky!"
"Ha, ha, never judge a person by their appearance," Greg chortled aloud, startling the jumpy pearl near him. "Did she say if she'd speak with other quartzes?"
"No, but she did say that she'd come speak with us again about Pink Diamond," Curls answered, sounding pleased to hear more about their deceased master.
So Blue Diamond had went with his idea to stick to at least one or two guards to talk about Pink Diamond with. That would prove to be a good start. Judging by how thrilled the two amethysts sounded, and that they did not express fear, it was a good start for Blue Diamond.
Greg's thoughts about his role as a confidant popped to bring him back to the reality. He just realized that he was at the hangar bay, and that he, the quartzes, and the blue pearl, had stopped their pace and were staring at these long metallic boxes. Marina counted the boxes, turned to the peculiar group and ushered them over with the widest grin she could muster.
"Alright you hunks-it's time to do some lifting!"
Without further orders the quartzes moved in three pairs to pick up the individual crates. Greg had no partner, so he looked over at the svelte gem beside him. The blue pearl gasped at what his look was implying. She twiddled with her thumbs and looked down at the floor as if it was the most fascinating thing to stare at. Greg's eyebrows softened in sympathies towards the pearl. He could not blame her for doubting herself when her entire life revolved around figures saying that 'pearls do this' and 'pearls can't do that'. Not wanting to push her he decided to join up with Curls and Sharky.
Greg went under the crate and lifted in the middle between the two amethysts. The two purple gems chuckled and asked if Greg could lift the crate on his own, which resulted in the human turning red in panic and frantically informing them that he couldn't. Fortunately they listened to him, but they sometimes pretended that they would lose their grip on the crates. They roared with laughter towards the jumpy human that tried to avoid the crate crashing his back.
Blue Diamond was not going to be a death to them. These quartzes were going to be the death of him.
Holly felt a rush of excitement as she neared Blue Diamond's private room. Her hands rubbed together in anticipation regarding the demise of that pitiful creature. There was no doubt that Blue Diamond would punish the human and place it in the zoo that it righteously deserves to be in. Perhaps, if she were lucky, the sovereign would eliminate the organic life form instead!
The agate entered the monarch's private room where the colossal gem stood with her hood obscuring her face. Holly caught a gleam of wonder and irritation in those sharp blue eyes of Blue Diamond. She had come here uninvited, and Holly could understand her diamond's frustration-she felt the same with those poor-excuses of quartzes.
"Pardon my intrusion, my diamond, but I have some rather disturbing news to share," Holly greeted formally with the diamond salute and a bow.
"What is this disturbing news you bring, agate?" Blue Diamond inquired, sounding so uninterested that the agate feared that her diamond would turn away to tend to her duties.
A sly smirk etched itself against Holly's face. This would be the crowning moment of demise for the disgusting human. Her diamond would be freed from that parasite and continue on as a ruler of gemkind.
"The human of yours is out in the docking bay, where it is willingly endangering itself by assisting a few quartzes with lifting some cargo and containers."
Though she could not see Holly was certain that Blue Diamond had raised an eyebrow at that claim. "Is that so?" the twin bun-haired gem nodded vigorously. "Then I shall see to it. Escort me there will you agate."
"Of course my diamond," Holly acknowledged.
She turned around and led her diamond with the most sinister and jubilant smirk she could muster.
"Just a couple more cargo to take and that'll be all!" Marina called out to the amethysts, jaspers, and Greg moving back from the laboratory to the docking bay.
"Oh boy, it's been a while since I had a good work out," Greg wheezed, his back hunched and his face red from exerting so much energy.
Curls burst out into a chortle of amusement towards the lumbering human. She gave a pat on Greg's back, which the force nearly shot the man to the ground. "It must suck being a human!"
Greg chuckled and then winced at his aching back. He'll definitely need to have a rest after this. Was there anything he could do after doing something so strenuous that would prevent him from growing bored? He'll have to inquire with Marina if there were any games or shows that gems watched in their free time. Then again, as Rose had explained to him countless times, gems were created for a purpose, thus they never had time for rest. Perhaps he could introduce board games and card games ideas? After all everyone needs a break to have fun in their life!
When Greg entered the docking bay he was met with the sight of a malicious grinning Holly and a stoic Blue Diamond. Greg grew pallor and came to a halt behind the group of quartzes and Marina. Curls and Sharky glanced over at the alarmed Greg, and then they stared at each other in trepidation. The blue pearl immediately saluted her diamond and bowed. Marina raised an eyebrow towards Holly, quite suspicious about the intent of the agate, then up at the regal hooded gem.
"I need to speak to the human in private," Blue Diamond spoke solemnly towards Marina, though her icy eyes noticed the human cowering from her gaze.
Without a hint of reluctance, as if the gems were under a hypnotic spell, the quartzes moved to the sides to expose Greg to their monarch. Greg blinked at the sovereign, trying to figure out if he could read her expression from under her hood. He could not read her. Greg gulped in terror and quietly followed after the towering gem. The pearl tried to follow after her master, but her diamond informed her to wait with Holly until she returned. Sweat ran down Greg's face as he went around the corner with just him and Blue Diamond. Eventually, after what felt like an eternity walking down the corridors, they came to a halt. Icy eyes stared down at the meek creature with nonchalance. Brown eyes stared up in wonder and trepidation.
"My agate informed me that you were willingly endangering yourself by helping the quartzes," Blue Diamond began. "Why would you endanger yourself?"
Greg's posture loosened as he felt himself calm down. This was just about him helping out the quartzes, what a relief!
"I wasn't endangering myself, Blue Diamond, I would have if I didn't have some of the quartzes helping me with the lifting and lowering of the cargo," Greg explained auspiciously.
The diamond tilted her head to the side in puzzlement. "Why were you helping those quartzes? They can handle lifting on their own."
"Because I wanted to help!" Greg smiled warmly. He noted the diamond pursing her lips in wonder. "I know I didn't need to, but I wanted to help them out."
"I do not understand your logic," Blue Diamond said. "Quartzes are built for these sort of tasks. They do not need assistance."
"I know, but the point of wanting to help someone is because you care about them and wish to make their lives easier," Greg explained.
For a moment the colossal robbed gem remained silent. Her eyes dropped to the pink floor so that her hood covered her face. Greg clasped his hands together and twiddled his thumbs in unnerve. Hopefully he wouldn't be punished or any of the gems he helped out. Finally, after some time passed, Blue Diamond looked up to regard Greg once more. He could see her neon eyes lighten to express kindness and a hint of some understanding.
"Was that what it was when you comforted me about your personal experiences?" She asked softly.
Greg gave a favourable grin and a nod. Blue Diamond hummed meditatively and contemplated his answer.
"I could also use your logic about 'gems being created for a task' on the amethysts that you spoke with about Pink Diamond," Greg added. "They weren't as you say built for listening but they still did!"
"I made them listen to me," Blue Diamond reminded firmly. Her tone grew calm and with a tinge of please. "But they were honest and genuine with their remarks."
"Did you feel better speaking with them?" Greg inquired.
Blue Diamond hummed affirmatively, earning the widest grin that Greg could muster. His eyes sparkled like stars: the amethysts were right and Blue Diamond was feeling better! He felt giggly at this news that he received a funny look from the matriarch, which caused him to halt his jumpiness and rub the back of his head. Her eyes loosened and her entire body felt at ease with everything that's been discussed.
"As long as you do not endanger yourself or interfere with another gem's business then you may do as you please," Blue Diamond declared. "Be sure that my pearl is with you always."
"Thank you, Blue Diamond, ma'am!" Greg bowed enthusiastically. Blue Diamond gave a curt nod to seal the deal.
"I shall explain these terms to the agate, my pearl, and your personal aquamarine," the diamond affirmed. "Let us return to the docking bay."
Greg followed after Blue Diamond, but instead of feeling dread and petrified horror regarding his future and the other gems he felt jubilant and rapturous.
If a gem could poof from flabbergast then Holly would have. Blue Diamond's announcement and news about the human who could do anything it want as long as it did not interfere with others astonished and horrified her. The quartzes grinned to each other and two bumped their fists together in cheerfulness. Blue Diamond left the human to continue helping the quartzes. Holly stood stock still with her fists clenched tightly. What was this parasite doing to her diamond? What strange effect was it having to fool the grand Blue Diamond and everyone but her to abide to its wishes? Why did everyone seemed happy with this creature?
What was it doing to everyone on this forsaken zoo?