Chapter 6

Fading

The sky grew brighter, turning into a dark blue color - the sun was beginning to rise. The stars were disappearing, the dark of night eaten away, leaving the calm ocean waves behind. They rose and fell, clashing against one another, but besides that, silence filled the air.

Lapis Lazuli and Chrysoberyl stood before the ship, which sat motionless as a monument. The smoke had stopped brewing, and the alarm finally ceased. They were staring at the engine, contemplating how they would manage to repair it. During a small tour of the inside, Lapis suggested removing all the earthly greenery - Chrysoberyl rolled his eyes, explaining that to be the obvious solution. He gazed up at the engine with his hands on his hips, frowning, trying to come up with a way to fix it. He looked at Lapis, whose eyes were sparklight.

"This is what the old ships used to look like?" She asked herself. "I forgot how we built them."

"Is there a difference to their models now?" Chrysoberyl asked.

"Some of them resemble body parts - a ship could look like my hand. But the engineers don't design them as circular any longer, Our Diamonds demanded it. You should see what their ships look like now."

Chrysoberyl stared at her, then back at the vessel - has Homeworld really changed that quickly? "You mentioned a Diamond Authority earlier, and why do you pledge your allegiance to White Diamond? Blue Gems serve under Walero the Blue Diamond."

Lapis paused, lowering her head. "You really don't know?" She looked over her shoulder, finding confusion in his eyes. "You weren't there to witness it, to watch Black Diamond's tyranny come to an end because he murdered a sister?"

Chrysoberyl turned his head to the side. "How could we all forget? For years on end, Krystal Kind will always recall Green Diamond's demise."

"Yet you still pledged under Onyx? White Diamond sought this to be atrocious. In secret, she, alongside Yellow, Blue, and Pink Diamond forged a weapon, a mechanical giant three times the size of Onyx. They used it to defeat him, and with it, they banished all male Gems back to Creation World."

"Black Diamond defeated? Our great Creator, fallen to his own creations!?"

"After he and the men were exiled, White Diamond made new laws that changed the history as we know it. We all considered the men have died due to the plague left behind on our place of birth. It has been five thousand years since this took place."

"What of the other Diamonds?"

"All dead, killed either by the aspects of space, or sacrificed themselves to protect Homeworld. White Diamond believes only she and the other three exist - she truly convinced herself King Onyx is dead."

Chrysoberyl stared at her in disbelief, then turned away, saying: "Then she is wrong. There is one Diamond that remains alive. Salocos."

"Red Diamond?" Lapis asked. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. I had an encounter with his Pearl a few days prior - he knows I am the only witness to Orange Diamond's death."

"Orange Diamond was murdered?"

He turned to face her. "Of course."

Lapis' gaze edged towards the ground. "We never came to a conclusion as to why he died."

Chrysoberyl glared at her, and stepped up to be eye to eye with her. "Did you not get any suspicion? Red Diamond escaped afterwards, you must have reckoned he was the one who killed him."

Lapis stared at him with narrow eyes. Chrysoberyl saw this and realized his tone of voice. He backed away, nodding in apology.

"After the murder, Onyx found Yellow Diamond kneeling next to the shattered remains," Lapis said. "Even with persuasion, he blamed her for it. Red Diamond was not found, even though he was the last one to meet with Rofahl. He was declared missing, and presumed dead at this point. Wouldn't you believe so?"

"No," Chrysoberyl said. "Red Diamond has been alive for years since that incident. I've been tracking him down for decades on end, but I never came close to shattering him." He looked at his wrist, and clenched his fist. "Now I have a chance - I'm so close."

He looked up at the ship, motionless yet hopefully not useless. He turned back to Lapis, who was giving him a sly grin.

"What?" He asked.

"For over five thousand years, you have been chasing down Salocos, and ended up here with an infection?" She asked.

"You don't understand. I was Orange Diamond's strongest warrior! I may have failed him in life, but I will avenge him in death."

Lapis lifted a finger. "Maybe you must not have heard me when I said: It's been over five thousand years since that incident. Perhaps he has perished to natural space origins."

"He couldn't have been shattered. He is still out there, somewhere." He drove his hand across the ship's hull. "If only I can repair this, then I will be able to complete my final mission."

Lapis dropped her head, dousing herself in laughter.

"You cackle at the death of one of our great leaders?" Chrysoberyl snarled.

"You really are from the old generation," Lapis said through a series of tittering. "As of now, male Gems are extinct. Do you have any idea how great of a discovery it is that you are alive? Homeworld has no other species on its gravel besides females. It has evolved greatly since kingdoms and domains ruled by color codes. Even if I were to return to tell White Diamond of your existence, she wouldn't believe me, a Lapis Lazuli of all Krystals. She wouldn't give an ounce of affection that Red Diamond is murdered by you."

Chrysoberyl scowled, and stomped up to her. "You say no one ever knew how Orange Diamond was shattered? I will be filling in a missing page to our history, and I will emerge victorious with Red Diamond's shards in my hands."

Lapis' laughter was replaced by resentment. She pushed him back, saying: "What would it matter anyway? Black Diamond's reign is no longer, a new age has come to pass. Even if by sheer chance you do succeed in Red Diamond's shattering, what will you accomplish? Release from pain in whatever is happening in your arm?"

"You don't understand. Someone like you would wish to be shattered if you know what is happening to me."

"Perhaps you have fused far too many times in the past."

Chrysoberyl's eyes went wide with rage. "Fusion!? There is a reason why Lord Onyx forbade us from fusing."

He did not realize it until the pain drove into his wrist. His krystal was glowing, bright like the moon shining down on them, enough to blind both Gems. Chrysoberyl yelped, grabbed his arm, taking a few steps back. The light died down, but the agony still remained. He gritted his teeth, and suddenly his legs felt weak. He fell to the ground, and Lapis quickly reacted. She grabbed his shoulders to help him stand. Chrysoberyl grunted and backed away, the pain reaching to his head. He opened his eyes; the world was spinning before him. The landscape stretched and twirled, mixing the sky with the ground, creating an emulsion of color to create an unknown form of light.

Chrysoberyl shut his eyes, shook his head and let out a scream. In a split second, everything paused. The pain, gone; the sting, gone - in their places were silence. Chrysoberyl looked over his shoulder to find Lapis Lazuli staring at him with a heavy amount of concern. His expression turned to worry, but could not find the words to apologize. He put a hand to his face, walked off the beach, and sat down. He looked at his palm, the left one, comparing it to the infected side. Chrysoberyl sighed, and shifted his attention to the ship - it was interesting that the humans had not detected their presence yet. His eyes fell on the ground, and that was when Lapis Lazuli came and sat down beside him.

"What is wrong with your krystal?" She asked.

"Like I said, you wouldn't understand," Chrysoberyl persisted.

"You said shattering is better than whatever this is - why? How could you say something as tragic as that?"

Chrysoberyl lowered his head, glancing at his shoulder, then down at his wrist - ever since it began, he would never have thought he had to explain it to someone. Thus, he started with: "Thousands of years ago, when Black Diamond stood mighty over us all, and Homeworld was fairly new to our knowledge, I was Rofahl the Orange Diamond's best warrior. Out of all fire colored Gems, I proved to be the strongest, most skilled fighter under his domain. So much so, he made me his head general. Henceforth, I trained his men, his Gems how to fight - of course, some fell victim to envy. Due to this, I fought my own allies, yet more came after the other. It was difficult at first, but I grew accustomed to it; in some ways, I trained them harder.

"Because I was in the higher ups, I and many others accompanied Our Diamond to distant planets to colonize. Yes, we did kill many species, unleashed Corrupted Gems onto the planets, yet none suited My Diamond right for a true colony. We continued to search, time and time again. Through this, I became close friends with Ter-Raria."

"Who is that?" Lapis asked.

"Hmph - it seems that White Diamond eliminated the names Our Creator provided for us. Ter-Raria was Orange Pearl, the faithful servant to My Diamond. She was as skilled as I will ever be, perhaps greater. We trained together, and we learned new techniques from one another almost every time we met - when I would stand atop mountains as My Diamond burned foreign planets to ashes, I would look, and see Orange Pearl there. During consultation between Diamonds, I and her would sneak away from duty, spending hours together - we came close to getting caught, but we soon learned how to avoid conflict. Our passion grew stronger, our devotion to one another grew closer, to the point where even I, one of the greatest fighters on Homeworld, fell to the temptation of affection." Chrysoberyl paused, lowering his eyes. "I never thought what consequences we would inflict upon each other.

"During another consultation, Orange Pearl and I took time for ourselves to exchange the affection we shared for each other. Our krystals started to glow, but not like they had before. We started to panic, but it was already too late. Our hands morphed together, but as we tried to pull away, it only increased the fusion. Our faces smashed together, and next thing we knew we found ourselves in one body. We had broken the greatest rule Our Creator forbid us to do, and our actions made us hysterical. We pulled as hard as we possibly could, but our krystals stuck together, as if they wanted to. Everytime the light faded, we stood as an abomination, and grew worse with every struggle. When we finally separated, we thought our krystals would shatter on their own. But no, it was much worse than we thought possible.

"It was just a tickle at first, but we didn't mind it very much, and prayed we would not be caught in what we violated. During a training session on a planet we left Corrupted Gems at, I tried to fight, but I had trouble summoning my sole weapon." Chrysoberyl paused, recalling the day which changed his life forever. "I've never felt such pain - I have cracked my krystal before, but even then I could only feel my body contort inside out - never in thousands of years have I ever experienced something worse. At first I thought this is how it feels when a Gem is shattered."

"Wait, how did it actually start?" Lapis asked. "Has any other Gem dealt with it before?"

"Didn't you understand when I first said it?" Chrysoberyl questioned. "It was the fusion. We panicked, we tried to separate, and it left pieces of our atoms in each of our bodies. As far as I know, no one has ever come across this before. Perhaps Gems which have fused together in the past did not struggle to stay apart, maybe they loved it."

"What did you mean when you said your atoms were left in your bodies?"

"Well, we didn't find that out until almost a year later, when the pain started to settle. We stole a screen pad and a robonoid from a Peridot and did research on ourselves in secrecy - because we were in the higher ups, it took us much longer to keep our situation restricted. Once we finally managed to finish the examination, we discovered that when we tore ourselves apart, pieces of my atoms merged with Ter-Raria's, and her's merged with mine. That is why we were having trouble summoning our weapons, that is why it hurts even if we don't use our weapons. If we use our krystals too often, the atoms start to die, killing us quicker. Our physical form cannot handle fusion, and our bodies cannot fight back this malignancy. Even if we went a hundred years without making our krystals glow, the atoms are still dying, yet much slower."

"So, no one has ever come across this disease?" Lapis asked. "Is it like the one back on Creation World?"

"It is not a disease," Chrysoberyl explained, "and it is not an infection; it is our own krystals slowly killing us on the inside, and there is nothing we can do to stop it. Overtime, it gets to the point where you try to resort to your krystal form, but no matter what you do, you can't. If you get injured, and summon more objects, the pain gets worse, and it does that by your krystal fusing with your body. It becomes a living muscle, growing onto you." He lifted his arm and showed her his krystal - it no longer was made of quartz, but of skin and tissue.

Lapis shivered at the sight, then said: "You found all of this out through your research?"

"Not all of it. I learned most of it from experience."

"Do you think it's another form of shattering? Or cracking your gem?"

"No. Fading." Chrysoberyl took another glance at his krystal, the horrid disgusting beating tissue that was once the source of his life. "Atoms rubbing against one another, tearing apart piece by piece, I'm slowly fading out of this world." He looked Lazuli right in her eyes. "That's why I need to find and shatter Red Diamond before I'm killed." He closed his eyes, turning his head towards the sky. "I've been on this planet for over three hundred years - I almost forgot how to operate that ship. It's funny, I used to travel through space all the time; now I have a hard time remembering what it's like."

A long minute of silence passed while the waves rose and fell, making little to almost inaudible noise.

"What will you do afterwards?" Lapis asked.

Chrysoberyl opened his mouth to answer, but paused. He turned his head away, deep in contemplation. For once in his life, the warrior instinct did not give him any sign of consultation. He felt confused, suddenly recalling Orange Pearl.

"I would have finished my final mission," are the words that escaped his mouth. "Orange Diamond's shattering would be avenged, and I will continue on knowing I was the one who put an end to Red Diamond's reign."

"But who will know?" Lapis questioned. "Black Diamond has been banished; White Diamond alongside Yellow, Blue, and Pink rule Homeworld. All other Diamonds are dead, who will care about what you do? How many Gems are alive who remember the name, Red Diamond? Who will remember Orange Diamond's greatest warrior?"

Chrysoberyl looked at his hand, and put it to his face, his mind spinning through his thoughts. Seven thousand years, at the very least since Orange Diamond's death, centuries after Black Diamond was banished, lifetimes following the newly formed Great Diamond Authority, ages that have long passed the Age of the New World. If the plague still inhabits Creation World, and every male Gem has died from the disease, Chrysoberyl now realized he was the only one who remained to remind Krystal Kind of the past. Even still, what other Gem remains that will recognize him? Who will recall Orange Diamond's shattering? Who will recollect a past now long gone to Homeworld? As Chrysoberyl sat in silence, staring at his krystal - whatever bit was still there - he tried to come up with a reason as to why he continued to fight.

Chrysoberyl turned his head, looking Lapis right in her eyes, saying: "A piece of our history is missing. A torn page in the archives of our legacy, and I need to be the one to fill that gap."

"But why?" Lapis asked. "Why wait until now? Why did you live on this planet for so long, and suddenly have the urge to finish what you started?"

Again, he paused, thinking. "Because, without My Diamond, I felt I had no purpose to keep fighting - much like a Pearl, who serves their leader with everlasting loyalty. Now I have regained my purpose, and recognized my devotion. I am a warrior, who fights and shatters under the name of His Diamond, and I will not rest until my enemy has been vanquished." He clenched his fist, suddenly feeling power surge through him.

"What made you wield your weapon again?"

Chrysoberyl opened his mouth to answer, but once more, stopped for a long moment. The only reply was: "I am not sure."

Lapis stared at him in disbelief. She tilted her head, smirking.

"What is your name?" Chrysoberyl asked.

"You know my krystal," Lapis replied. "That is my name, along with all other Lapis's. The only difference about our names is our cut."

"No, not your krystal name. I apologize for mentioning Onyx's great sovereignty, but he gave us names when he created us. What is your name?"

Lapis' eyes went wide, turning away from him, shifting her position. "White Diamond hated him for what he did to the women, and so she erased our names, because it reminded her of Onyx."

Chrysoberyl leaned forward to try and see her face. "I see . . . . Then, will you tell me why you're here?"

Lapis lifted her head, gazing up at the sky. "White Diamond sent me. She wanted me to check on something - she seemed very anxious about it."

"Interesting. What would your Great Diamond Authority want with a planet such as this?"

Lapis lowered her head, her expression turning to sorrow. "You would not understand - it has been so long, so many things have changed."

Chrysoberyl raised an eyebrow. "Very well then."

A moment of silence went by, then Lapis said: "Did you take part during the Great Gem War here on earth?"

He turned to her. "I'm sorry?"

Lapis was flabbergasted. "What!? Were you really still fighting Red Diamond when the Rebellion took place?"

"You mean to tell me the Insurrection was rebuilt?"

Lapis turned away. "No, this was much different." She paused, collecting her thoughts. "Pink Diamond was shattered, and the Great Diamond Authority blamed a Rose Quartz for it. She fought back, and she won! You weren't a witness to it?"

Chrysoberyl contemplated, then replied: "No. It seems that things really do change, even after one hundred years."

He stood, staring at the ship with a blank face.

Lapis stood. "You don't have to go and fight him. Many things have changed. Like I said, no one will remember the name Red Diamond, and White Diamond despises male Gems. She'll shatter you!"

"I am doing this for the past," Chrysoberyl replied, "because I am the last of what remains of the male Gems."

He walked towards the ship - Lapis reached out to him but pulled her arm back, knowing it would be useless to talk him out of this.

Once inside, Lapis watched Chrysoberyl skim through files on the screen. He stopped at one file, and read a wall of symbols.

"I see," he said.

"What is it?" Lapis asked.

"This is an old vessel; back then they worked best in deep space, but not on planets with any type of atmosphere. Even still, I don't have enough power to escape this planet."

A long moment of silence followed suit.

Hesitantly, Lapis placed a hand on his shoulder, saying: "If this is what you truly desire, and if you believe this is what you must do to avenge Your Diamond, then I will help you."

Chrysoberyl looked over his shoulder to meet eyes with her.

"You will never see me again," she said, "but I can understand."

He stared at her, contemplating this idea - for once, he doubted his decisions. In the end, Chrysoberyl found himself standing at the controls. He looked out the window and found Lapis in the air, her water wings flapping gracefully. She lifted her arms, and a gigantic hand rose from the ocean. Gently, the hand grabbed the ship, lifting it off the ground. The metal creaked, piercing Chrysoberyl's ears; he looked down, finding himself five yards in the air. With a deep breath, Lapis flapped her wings hard, launching the ship into the air with a heavy amount of water rising into the sky.

When they were above the clouds, the arm could not rise any higher. Because of this, Lapis waved her arms, separating the hand from the arm. Chrysoberyl watched the water fall back down to the earth as what was left of the water hand surrounded the vessel, coating it in a shield of ocean. It was heavy, but with a glare on her face, Lapis flapped her wings, and rose higher into the sky.

While morning rose back down on the earth, the Gems escaped the atmosphere, entering the blackness of space. Chrysoberyl gasped - he had forgotten how dark, yet beautiful it was. Just then, the ship came to life. Lights flashed and the room was engulfed in noise. He sunk his hands into the goop of the controls, moving the ship side to side. This indicated for Lapis to destroy the water shield, and it all fell down to the planet below. The vessel hummed, and with a smile on his face, Chrysoberyl hit a button, and darted straight into the darkness. He lowered his head into a glare next to a wicked smirk - at last, after thousands of years, he will shatter Red Diamond, and avenge Orange Diamond once and for all.

As Chrysoberyl disappeared behind the stars, he looked back to see Lapis Lazuli, her arms out to her sides, and her wings motionless as she drifted off into space.