A/N: I'm really sorry for the super late update (and I will be getting to PMs/review replies right after this posts, I promise!). This chapter was horrible to write-for some reason I didn't think that I'd have to make any more OCs or come up with any more headcanons, and boy was I wrong. I'm not happy with it, but here's hoping you lovely folks like it better!
It took some experimenting, but they know how to make Garnet come into being now. In hindsight, Sapphire can't believe it's taken them this long to figure it out—they've come so close to Garnet on so many occasions now, if they had just allowed themselves to fall into each other earlier…
Well, none of that matters. What matters is that they finally know. Sapphire can feel Garnet in her every step now, a potential she's always carried, a part of her she never thought to put a name to. A temptation that worries the edges of her will with a fierce consistency.
Sapphire is always paying attention to Ruby, noting where she is and what she is doing, how close they are in proximity to each other, but now there is a new verve to her awareness. After literally becoming a part of Ruby, this individuality feels so painfully superficial, their separation like a kind of punishment.
Garnet is safe and good, welcoming and strong. There is no reason to dislike being her, and so no reason to not want it. It's hard to know all of that and tell yourself no anyway, but that is exactly what Sapphire does.
'Go to the conference room for a demonstration. We will be there tomorrow at 1400 hours,' said the reply to the news of what they had discovered. Her original message had been as descriptive as one could be without quite having the proper words to describe the process, or the results, but Sapphire thought she could read the skepticism in between the characters of the response. 'Ruby knows the place.'
You'll get to be close again very soon, Sapphire tells herself as they walk to the conference room. The time and their route are so different from the usual that they don't even have to worry about the other ruby stalking them there, so their pace is efficient but unrushed. Nevertheless, when Ruby reaches for her hand and grips it, Sapphire holds on firmly. She's grateful that she isn't the only one who is feeling this way.
Nerves. That's what this is. But what is there to be nervous about? It's only the Diamonds. Sapphire talks to them every day—she knows the problems that plague them, and she intimately understands the way they think. Sure, they have power, but Sapphire has always known this about them. She writes her thoughts and opinions very plainly in their correspondences, and she never feels nerves or fear from that. Why should seeing them in person feel any different?
It does, though. There is no doubt about it. This feels different, and Sapphire feels nervous.
Maybe it's not talking to them face to face that bothers her, per se, as much as what she will be talking about. After all, Garnet and Ruby are the beings she cherishes most, and putting them on display in front of gems that could very easily take them from her is a positively chilling notion.
Sapphire and Ruby don't have to say anything to each other to stop just outside the door to the conference room. It's just like any other door in the Containment Unit: thick, heavy, windowless, its room number stamped into the very metal that gives it shape. Nondescript.
Ruby is looking at her. Her broad fingers give Sapphire's a squeeze, and she offers a tiny smile of nerves and apprehension—but, ultimately, of trust. "Well, here goes nothing."
They let go of each other—only briefly, just for now—and Ruby turns the knob.
The setup in the conference room is very similar to the panel Ruby spoke to at the end of their fifty-year probationary period, a half circle of suspiciously familiar chairs and a projection screen. The tablet to control the latter is nowhere to be found, however, because there is no need for that today.
The room is smaller in person, Sapphire thinks. She keeps her head facing forward and her lips relaxed—don't let them see that you're nervous, they'll think you have something to hide. There is nothing to hide. Not really. Not if their whole purpose for being here is to showcase Garnet.
They're all here, all four of the Diamonds—no, wait, Pink Diamond sent a representative. That's to be expected, though. Pink Diamond's questions always have something to do with far flung planets and the health and establishment of various Kindergartens; she is in charge of the colonization aspect of their culture, and is rarely on-planet as a result.
Still, three out of four Diamonds in the same place at the same time. Sapphire doesn't know it as a certainty, but she is willing to bet that this doesn't happen often—least of all in Containment Units.
Sapphire has seen all of the Diamonds in visions before. She is familiar with all of their faces and forms. Nevertheless, they are all much larger in person (or maybe that's just the small size of the room playing tricks on her eye). They did not stand up when Ruby and Sapphire walked in, and they're still much taller than she expected.
"Right on time, excellent," says Blue Diamond, checking a small device strapped to her wrist. Her legs are crossed primly at the knee, and her spiked hair—a shade of blue somewhere between Sapphire's and Apatite's—seems to be proudly winning the struggle against gravity. "I have to be topside again by 1500 hours, so let's get this over with."
White Diamond's characteristically sharp gaze narrows at Sapphire. Her arms are crossed in front of her chest. "This had better be worth what we are losing in productivity," she says witheringly.
"We wouldn't have contacted you for anything less," Sapphire replies, and she surprises herself with the coolness of her voice. Yes, she's asymmetrical, but surely by now White Diamond knows she isn't an idiot. The very fact that she is here in person is testament to the fact that she took the message seriously—so what is the practical purpose in being so condescending?
"Well, let's see what's so important, then," says Pink Diamond's representative. She makes a gesture with her wrist that is decidedly shooing.
"You said it makes you stronger?" says Yellow Diamond.
Sapphire doesn't miss the intrigue in her tone. The Diamond is sitting straight-backed in her chair, posture rigid and with an edge that Sapphire can only describe as militaristic. Yellow Diamond is perpetually poised and ready to leap into action. She pays attention to every small detail, particularly the weaknesses. That is what her questions are often about—how best can I use my opponent's weakness against her? Whenever Pink Diamond encounters resistance from the natives on a planet with promising Kindergarten minerals, Yellow Diamond is tagged to move in and exterminate the threat. Sapphire finds that their questions often intersect and complement each other like two sides of the same coin.
"Yes," Sapphire replies, because this is a direct question from a Diamond, after all. Who is she to resist that?
"How?"
Ruby, standing next to her, says, "Because our strength is compounded when we fuse."
"I don't understand."
Whether it is the term fuse or the concept of it that is baffling her is not specified, but they are not given the opportunity to ask for clarification because Blue Diamond says impatiently, "Perhaps you will if we actually see it with our own eyes."
White Diamond glances at the blue gem. Her expression is decidedly unimpressed, and also a little derisive, but ultimately she doesn't remark upon her fellow Diamond's tone. Instead she tells Ruby and Sapphire, "We are all here so you can make a demonstration."
"Of course," says Sapphire. Then she turns to Ruby, and shuts the Diamonds out. She holds out her hand, and upon looking into the familiar warmth of her partner's eyes, she allows herself a small smile. "Shall we, Ruby?"
Ruby grins, and they both laugh despite themselves, despite the Diamonds and the other Ruby, despite everything, when she picks Sapphire up and swings her around like they are young and carefree. The wavelengths of their gems shift into synchronicity, and sinking in to the other's light has never been so effortless. The relief of finally giving in to their desire for closeness makes itself plain in one drawn out, mutual breath.
Garnet's three eyes open, and she breathes in deep. There is a serenity to be found in this form that her component parts just can't manage alone, and it courses through her limbs as potent, unbridled energy. She isn't as awkward as before, though her fascination with herself is still at the forefront of her mind. Her feet are planted firmly on the metal floor, and her shoulders are drawn proudly back. Her projection is as solid as any other gem's here, and the sheer physicality of her own existence—a seemingly different medley of ever-exchanging lights and feelings that, slowly but surely, are birthing a perspective that is entirely her own—is emboldening.
From this height, the Diamonds aren't that big after all.
Speaking of whom, their reactions are quite enlightening. White Diamond's mouth is hanging open, agape and undignified. Pink Diamond's representative has leapt from her chair and keeps hopping from foot to foot as she debates coming nearer or moving back, stifling small squeaking noise all the while. Blue Diamond has lost her lingering bitterness about losing one of her most promising research subjects; she keeps tilting her head to and fro to see Garnet from different angles, enraptured.
Yellow Diamond is also on her feet. While there is still an air about her like she expects to snap into combat, she moves slowly. Neither Garnet nor her components, watching warily from behind her eyes, can read the expression on the Diamond's face as she approaches.
Whereas White Diamond's form calls to mind unapologetically sharp and angular objects like daggers, Yellow Diamond's is made of triangles. She's sharp, but she's methodical about it. She's taller and more slender than White Diamond, but her shoulders are just broad enough to be intimidating. Her arms, left bare for ease of movement, have some but not too much definition. She is pretty, but only just. Her entire projection is stern and calculated, designed to win you over in some way or another.
"Can you understand what I'm saying?" she asks Garnet, though it seems she already knows the answer.
"Of course," Garnet replies. She holds still as Yellow Diamond circles her, but she can feel the other's eyes probing at her elbows and the backs of her knees, visually trying to gauge her power.
"And do you have a weapon?" the Diamond asks as she comes full circle and halts.
That's actually a very good question. Does she? Both Ruby and Sapphire hold their weapons on their hands—will one get in the way of the other, or will one occupy the hand with its corresponding gem?
"I haven't tried to summon it," Garnet replies. She offers no other explanation than that.
Yellow eyes narrow, but only slightly. It doesn't last long before she says, "Try to now."
While Garnet herself has never summoned a weapon before, Ruby and Sapphire are happy to help her find the connection she's looking for as she reaches into herself and pulls. With a flash of light that is a little more prolonged than a typical weapon retrieval, a weight settles over her hands and wrists. It's heavy, but it's comfortable. Nothing could feel more right.
"Gauntlets," says Blue Diamond. She is on her feet now, and marches over to examine them with new confidence. "The ruby's weapon is boxing gloves, and the sapphire's is knuckledusters. Gauntlets are a perfect combination of the two."
"The color of their gems has changed, too," Pink Diamond's representative points out. "They're both a deep shade of red now."
"The only odd thing about you is your third eye," Yellow Diamond says. "Do you still have the sapphire's power of foresight?"
"Yes," says Garnet.
"And you're stronger like this," Yellow Diamond mutters. She looks to Garnet and holds up a hand, palm facing outwards. "Punch me as hard as you can."
All three of Garnet's eyes blink. She clenches and unclenches her fists within her gauntlets. "Punch your hand," she says.
"Did I stutter?"
The stern and expectant look on Yellow Diamond's face cannot be ignored for very long. Well, Garnet figures as she rolls her shoulders and hauls back her right fist, if she's asking…
The blow causes Yellow Diamond to skid back several feet, and the sheet metal flooring to warp and dent dramatically. Yellow Diamond herself is entirely unharmed, and she straightens from the stance she had sunk into and steps away from the warping in an almost leisurely fashion.
"That is more than twice their strength as individuals," says Blue Diamond as she peers at the damage done to the floor. She doesn't look particularly concerned that it's happened, but rather at the implications of it.
"Indeed," Yellow Diamond says. Her expression is, once again, entirely unreadable.
"The possible applications for a technique like this are endless," Pink Diamond's representative mutters to herself excitedly. She is tapping rapid notes into a tablet. "We might even be able to use this to enhance Blue Diamond's rehabilitation program…"
"How did you figure this out?" asks White Diamond. She has recovered from her gaping, but she still has yet to leave her seat. Arms and legs crossed, she looks to Garnet as if she has wanted to confront her about this from the start.
Garnet stalls. Her gauntlets fade. There are so many ways this question can be answered, and just as many ways in which this conversation can end. Sapphire and Ruby are both trying to help, offering advice and encouragement simultaneously, but Garnet's not used to sorting through all of these possibilities—and the visions don't feel the same, Sapphire says. It's not the prescience she's so used to, not quite.
Just like the first time, the sudden montage of potent future visions overwhelms her, and Garnet loses her grip on herself. Sapphire and Ruby fall apart with a flash and a thud, and they both groan as they pick themselves up off the floor. Sapphire shakes her head in an attempt to rid herself of the vertigo.
"What just happened?" asks Blue Diamond. She seems either irritated or intrigued, but it's actually more likely that she's both. "Why did you stop?"
"Are these fusions inherently unstable?" says Pink Diamond's representative with a severely disappointed frown. "We don't have use for a technique that won't hold up under pressure."
"Garnet isn't used to my power," says Sapphire. "She is still adjusting to future vision; it overwhelmed me when I was a new gem, too."
" 'Garnet'?" repeats Pink Diamonds rep incredulously. "That was you in there—why would you come up with another name? You're a sapphire, and that's a ruby—" an obligatory gesture. Ruby's lips twitch "—if anything, when you pile up on each other like that we can call you Rupphire, but think of the taxonomic nightmare you'd be participating in if every fusion got its own name! Garnet, honestly…" The representative taps in another note.
"But the color looks right to be a garnet—did your Mohs change when you did that? Do you actually become the gem you're claiming that was?" asks Blue Diamond, looking to the pair of asymmetrical gems with increasing academic interest. Then she thinks of something and taps the device on her wrist. "Follow up question: that form changed your weapons, but did it do anything to alter your elemental abilities?"
"Don't—" White Diamond makes a noise of supreme frustration "—You're letting her avoid the question!"
Blue Diamond looks up. "Which one? They haven't answered any of mine."
"We can sort out the logistics of this technique later." Then White Diamond turns the full force of her piercing gaze on Sapphire and Ruby. "How did you figure out you could do this?"
Ah, Sapphire thinks. So you don't think I'm an idiot after all.
In hindsight, if she could figure out how the Diamonds' minds worked through their correspondences, she should have understood that it could go the other way around as well. She always assumed she was too beneath their notice.
"Yes," says Yellow Diamond. Her voice is quiet, but all the more intimidating for the volume. "I, too, am very interested in that story."
"We've worked together every day for over two thousand years," says Ruby. "Is it any wonder we can synchronize our wavelengths?"
"I've worked with them for thousands of years, too," says White Diamond with a brisk gesture to her 10-Mohs brethren. "And we have never once merged our forms together like that." She stops as a thought visibly crosses her face.
Sapphire, seeing half a dozen very, very bad futures suddenly crop up, ignores the sudden roiling of her gut and says, "You've never been bullied, either. You're symmetrical, and have a Mohs of 10. Nothing and no one will challenge you. That's not so, when you're asymmetrical as we are."
"You're under protection," says White Diamond with a dismissive wave of her glowing and oddly graceful hand. "All of the Supervisors know to enforce that, and that gets passed down to the inmates. That is how a Containment Unit functions, Sapphire."
Her tone is so withering and condescending that, in that instant, Sapphire truly cannot understand how White Diamond ever thought she had been clever enough to redirect an uncomfortably probing inquiry.
"Oh yeah, in theory that's how it works," says Ruby scathingly. "And whenever you start walking around everyone snaps into their best behavior—but do you ever think about the insubordination that could be happening when you're not here and not paying those of us trapped underground any attention?"
"That is no way to talk to a Diamond!" snaps Pink Diamond's representative. "Who do you think you are, defective gem?"
"A reality check, apparently."
"Ruby," Sapphire starts. She reaches out to touch her elbow, but Ruby shrugs the contact off in favor of gesturing to the three Diamonds and the one representative.
"None of you has any concept of how things actually work down here, and you're here so rarely and for such specific reasons that there's no way in the cosmos that you'd ever get a chance to see it for yourself."
"Ruby."
"You also clearly don't care to listen, even when someone is telling you about it—so of course you wouldn't know the way that gems have to band together to protect themselves! Now you stand here telling us that our closeness—"
"Ruby."
Sapphire's tone is what finally manages to cut through Ruby's rant, but it's already too late—and if the expression that has suddenly settled over Ruby's features is indicative of anything, then she is now realizing it too.
The air in the conference room is different now. It was never comfortable, but now every movement is like wading through shrapnel.
Pink Diamond's representative has a hand clapped over her mouth in scandalized horror. She's so caught up that she hasn't even made a note about it yet.
"Closeness, huh," says White Diamond. "Is that the secret, then? Romance?"
"Gems are a proud race of self-sufficient individuals," says Blue Diamond, abruptly closed off and not interested at all. She gives the device on her wrist a tap of finality. "We did not evolve to require pair bonding of any sort. To do so is unnatural."
"Co-dependency is a weakness of the mind; it clouds the judgement," Yellow Diamond concludes. "No matter how physically strong the result, if this fusion technique uses something like that as a foundation, then it will always be inherently fragile and unstable. It is of no use to me."
White Diamond waves her hand. "We've seen enough. You are dismissed."
Sapphire, picking up her skirts and prodding a very stiff and mortified Ruby into motion, lets the heavy metal door shut behind them loudly. She had been hoping to avoid this outcome. Ruby is forever straying from their plans, but usually it is for the better. Not this time, though. This time… well, now that these events have begun to play out in real time there is very little she or Ruby can do to change it. Things are about to be turned upside down for them, and swiftly. They need to prepare for that—it's all they can do now.
"Sapphire," Ruby says. She's not walking as quickly as usual. She's moving like her limbs are hollow and devoid of sensation, and Sapphire aches to see her this way. "Was there ever any potential for using fusion to help the defective gems here?"
Sapphire doesn't speak. She can't bear to, partially for Ruby but also partially because she doesn't want to say aloud that maybe, this one time, it would have been best for them to leave well enough alone.