Off-Color Undercity
Sitting atop one of the scaffoldings that scaled the walls of the old repurposed kindergarten, now repurposed as living spaces for the various numerable off color gems that have managed to escape to the depths below surface, Spinel had an expressive look on her face as she chatted with a Honey Quartz gem. Said gem was yellow in color with a gelatinous body that was stiff enough for her to have a stable form of an average quartz soldier.
"-So then, Pink said she wanted to have your batch since Yellow Diamond didn't want your batch, after calling all of your gem types failures. Yellow Diamond denied her, So then later she snuck out while telling me to sit still till she got back." Spinel giggled a bit, as she rested her palms against the platform she sat on while leaning back a bit. "She came back after some time, Yellow Diamond was very furious at the time when she found out Pink snuck you off somewhere…never figured you'd all be down here." she mused wistfully.
The Honey Quartz nodded a bit, "We were quite surprised when she snuck into our holdings, and snuck us through those secret passageways of hers." she remarked while smiling somberly, "If it were not for her, My batch might have been shattered and recycled."
Spinel then frowned a bit, "By the way…" she trailed off as she glanced at Honey quartz, "I don't get what makes you an off color…uh…were you supposed to be able to do something other gems do?...Cause I don't see anything wrong with your appearance." she gestured up and down at the Honey Quartz.
Honey Quartz, having been given a bit of a bigger picture of what happened after her batch were helped in escaping a terrible fate after being called a colossal failure, smiled thinly at Spinel. "A lot of my fellow gems were deemed failures, due to the instability of holding our forms…" She then glanced off to the side bitterly, "And it wasn't for the lack of trying either…" she bitterly spat.
"Huh." Spinel mused while eyeing the honey colored wings that the Quartz wrapped around herself, "I don't see anything wrong now…" she remarked curiously.
Honey Quartz gestured at herself, "This is just after centuries of practice of keeping my form stable…didn't even give us a chance…" she muttered afterwards with a downtrodden look.
Spinel smiled a bit, "Well, maybe you can get a second chance" She remarked with an excited look, "I've seen Citrine take off colors to use among her soldiers after all!"
"...Has the great Diamond Authority really changed that much!?" Honey Quartz asked with a surprised look, only for Spinel to shrug at her question.
"Not…really?" Spinel said with a questioning tone and look, "I mean, maybe? I only just came back after Citrine crash landed on Pink's Moon Garden, so I don't know how much has changed." she said in a nonchalant tone.
Honey Quartz looked at Spinel with a quizzical look, "um…okay?" She said in response to how Spinel returned to gem society, "Still, I feel like you're leaving out what happened to Pink on-"
Spinel, with a seething look on her face while gritting her teeth, clenched her hands into fist as she shouted, "Pink didn't get shattered! Hehe!" She began to giggle uncontrollably, and gave Honey Quartz a sideways look, "It's just some big game she's playing, Diamond's don't shatter!" she cried out, before calming down with a conflicted and hateful gaze off into the distance of the off color undercity.
"I see you're still coping, good for you." A familiar voice to Spinel sneered in anger, prompting Spinel attention towards one of the hole entrances that lead into the off color residential area.
While Honey Quartz was unsure what was going on, or who'd bother to come down from the surface, but she watched as Spinel hopped up to her feet, and sprung off from the scaffolding with spring-like legs, before landing on the ground to glare at the newcomer.
From out of the entrance, Pink Opal stepped lightly into the fluorescent light emitted from the various repurposed gem tech that had been recycled into use for lighting. Stopping short of a few yards away from Spinel, Pink Opal stood as the two glared at each other for their own reasons. Silence fell between the two, before Opal spoke with an annoyed tone, "You look worse up close, you stupid court jester." she sneered while gently leaning her parasol against her shoulder.
Spinel harrumphed, and crossed her arms with a smirk, "Says you, you barely changed your outfit." she shot back, before pulling her arm out from her crossed arms to point at Pink Opal, "Pink always enjoyed how you changed your clothes everyday, but here you are wearing the same thing you wore since she left with me to the Garden!" she challenged back smugly.
Pink Opal sneered and gritted her teeth while clenching her parasol into her hands tightly, "I'm scuffing wearing what I wore when she left for the Pink Palace for the last time! It's what I wore before she left us all!"
"..." at the mention of Pink leaving them all, Spinel grinded her teeth, "You ugly Piece of Glass! I'll have you know, she didn't leave me! I'm still playing a game with her…except I lost…" she groused with an annoyed look and tone, while hunched over and her fists clenched down as if she were ready to have a go at Opal. "So don't talk like she left us all!"
Pink Opal's eyes lit up with anger at being called an ugly piece of glass, before making an amused look at Spinel at the assumptions she was making, "And what game was that? Stand still until she gets back? Oh dear…ohohoho, that expression, I'm right!" She chortled while lifting her wrist up to laugh at Spinel while covering her mouth behind her hand. "She left you, and you're coping with the fact, she not only left you, she made you stand for what could have been eternity!"
"That's not true!" Spinel yelled back with anger in her eyes, while taking a step forward towards Pink Opal, "Pink was just tired of me for a few centuries, she'll come back, I just know it!" she argued back with tears threatening to spill from the corners of her eyes, "You're just jealous she grew tired of having social gatherings with you to her Balls!" she smirked back with a triumphant look.
With a seething look, before making a grab of her parasol with both hands once more, Pink Opal, "YOU WATCH YOUR MOUTH, YOU PIECE OF COAL!" she yelled with a high pitched voice, before she broke her parasol in half out of sheer anger towards Spinel, "I did what I was made for, for her! Maintain my etiquette as her number one Socialite Soiree planner!" she cried out, before tossing aside the broken parasol that dissipated into light once it clattered to the ground.
"You're no different than every other Opal!" Spinel yelled back with anger, and cackled, "Face it! You're just a run of the mill opal, while I'm one of the first Spinels, in fact, I'm the first spinel, and I was created for Pink specifically, A Diamond rated Spinel. You couldn't hope to measure up to how special I was for Pink!" Spinel argued with Pink Opal with a smirk while patting her chest as a gesture throughout her diatribe.
"And how'd that turn out!" Opal screeched back while summoning another Parasol from the gem on her head, as the argument between the two gems got more heated, "I bet Pink left you, cause she wanted to move on! You always were clingy, whereas I was patient with Pink." she spat out in anger.
"You shut your mouth! Raagh!" That was the last straw as Spinel lunged at Pink Opal.
"How about you get cracked!" Pink Opal yelled as she ran at Spinel.
The two gems collended into a heap, before both of them rolled in a tangled mess of flying fists and a parasol being swung, shortly before both gems rolled off fighting through the entrance of the off-color gems undercity.
Having watched it all occur as a bystander, Honey Quartz was silent for a few seconds, before speaking her mind on the matter, "Those have to be the most extreme gems within Pink Diamond's court…no way most of her gems behave like that…" she remarked with an incredulous expression.
From beside her, a Pink Moonstone gem with tide red colors mixed with her natural Pink body, walked up to stand beside the Quartz prototype soldier, "Kinda..ish?" she said, while answering Honey Quartz's question.
Said gem soldier glanced to her left and up at the gem type that was meant for Pink Diamond's personal Ball party decorators. The gem had a smock that covered a majority of her figure in gradient colors of pink, with a berete atop her head to finish the look.
Honey Quartz gave the Pink Moonstone an upward glance while still sitting, "kinda?" She questioned. While the Pink Moonstone gem palmed her hips as she glanced down at the prototype quartz soldier, "What do you mean by that?"
Pink Moonstone shrugged, before answering the question, "I didn't get to know the court that much, before Pink sent us down here to escape being shattered, but I did get to know some of her court while she hid some of us in her palace for a time."
"Her entire court is very…clingy in their own ways, and hangs onto her every word…" Pink Moonstone explained with a wistful tone, "I think it has to do with the fact that she treats her court differently than the other Diamonds and their courts."
"Hmm." Honey Quartz hummed in thought in reply to the Moonstone's descriptor of Pink and the short time she got to know the Pink Court.
"I think it also has to do with Pink's habit of never being strict with her court, even if she can't help it." Pink Moonstone added as an afterthought.
Honey Quartz picked herself up to stand and face the Moonstone gem, "Well…let's just hope that Opal was the only gem that found this place." she said with a dour look.
"Rather bold of you all, to assume we never knew this place existed." A calm voice announced itself, as from the many entrances of the undercity, several Gems from Yellow Diamond's court made their presence known.
Several were Jasper Quartz soldiers, while at the center lead was a Fire Opal as the gem herself stood out atop the opposite scaffolding of the Moonstone and Honey Quartz.
The Fire Opal gem that had announced herself, and her contingent of jasper soldiers, gave the two cautious off-color gems a narrowed eyed look, "Yellow Diamond, my Diamond, has always known of this place." she made a haughty sniff afterwards while dozens of off color gems took notice of the sudden appearance of the new gems.
Fire Opal, a lithe gem dressed in a black and yellow similar in scheme to a quartz soldier, glanced around at all the gems with her hands on her hips while the jaspers awaited her orders beside her. "She simply allows you to continue to exist for the time being, cause she allows it, and you all will find yourself at an end when she demands it…or at most, at White Diamond's order." she added at the last bit.
One brave off color gem, an off color Jade from Blue Diamond's court, spoke up, "w-w-what are you here for then? If not to shatter us all!?" she hollered out with a nervous look from above a couple scaffoldings above Honey Quartz and Pink Moonstone.
With a bored look, Fire Opal huffed an annoyed tone, while flipping her orange bob-cut hair aside, "I am here to retrieve Commander Citrine. We searched Homeworld's old Gamma Nine kindergarten until I reached the conclusion that she must have found her way here." she spoke dismissively, while giving every off color gem a look of disgust. "Just the sight of you all stains my eyes." she commented, a variety of looks from the off-color gems ranging from anger to scowls.
"That will be enough callous remarks." The Commander's voice the tension in the area just as quick as Citrine exited from a far off building that was within earshot.
With a plain look as she walked out, Citrine stood at the entrance with a pointed look towards Fire Opal, "Fire Opal, I haven't seen you since the incident on Planet Ochre One dash two." she stated with her arms crossed and an expectant look.
Fire Opal's face stiffened a bit, before giving the commander a look of disgust as a pair of Sapphires eventually followed out to stand behind the commander. "Of course you of all gems would find yourself welcome here, always strutting around with off colors in your regiments, alongside cabochon cuts with facete cuts." she sneered with her lip turned up in disgust.
Commander Citrine, who stood atop the stairway that led up to the building she walked out from, began her descent down while conversing with the Fire Opal, "Oh, I wasn't welcomed here in the first place, as you, like always, assume too much." she drawled out while staring directly back at the gem who shot back a heated look, "And how I operate my regiments is none of your concern, nor is it up for me to discuss to you at the moment." she spoke in a crisp tone, before stopping to stand a few feet away from the Fire Opal.
After a few tense moments between the two gems, the Opal growled in anger before squashing her irritation with the commander, "Yellow Diamond…expects me to bring you back…" she spoke through gritted teeth. "Under no circumstances, was I to escort any off color clods of an eyesore back to the surface!" she spoke in a very upset tone with her fists clenched at her sides.
Citrine frowned once, before making a flat look, "And you don't have to, I'll just come back to confiscate some valuable sapphires." she argued with an intense look, at which Fire Opal clicked her teeth in annoyance.
"You're just like Pink Diamond was, always wanting off colors." Fire Opal spat in discaust with a curled lip.
Already, soft angered murmurs broke amongst the onlooking off color gems that watch the two gems argue back and forth to each other. Citrine however made a rather nasty smirk at the Fire Opal, "You know, I am reminded of when you hindered my investigation on planet Ochre One dash two, perhaps I should relay what you just said about Pink Diamond to Yellow Diamond." she remarked as a veiled threat.
"...!" Fire Opal's eyes widened while stepping back, before glaring at the Commander, "You…you!" she stuttered over her words, before spinning on her heels to leave, "Don't keep me waiting!" she gritted out, while her Jaspers gave a passing glance at the Commander, before following their Opal leader out.
Once Fire Opal and her gems were gone finally, Citrine frowned with an annoyed look before turning around to look at Lapis as she approached her with Star Sapphire and Padparadcha trailing behind the Lapis Lazuli gem.
"I have much use for those unique abilities of you two, so expect me back down to pick you up." Citrine ordered with a stern look, at which the two Sapphires smiled a bit at their off color abilities being called useful. The commander then looked up and around at the many off color gems, "That goes for you all too, either stay here and wait for the inevitable, or be drafted into my regiments." she hollered out strictly. "That, is your ultimatum." she finished speaking before stopping short of herself.
"Wait…one more thing… where's-" Citrine began to ask if any gem had seen Spinel, only for said gem to arrive back with a satisfied and triumphant look while tossed up and down a Pink Opal gem. "Oh…uh…" Citrine furrowed her brows in confusion as she watched Spinel walk back in through one of the entrance holes, "...since when, is that Pink Opal!?" Citrine's eyes twitched a bit at the blase way Spinel was juggling Pink Opal's gem between her hands.
"Yup." Spinel replied back as she walked over to Citrine, and stop short of standing a few feet away from the commander, and continued to juggle the opal gem, "We had a little argument…and we worked it out…very thoroughly.~" she explained with an upbeat tone in her voice.
"..." Citrine gave Spinel a flat look, before closing her eyes and letting out a calming sigh while internally counting to herself. Opening her eyes back up, she marched off to the exit, leaving Lapis and Spinel to follow after her with one amused and the other continuously juggling an opal gem.
Once the three were finally gone, Honey Quartz, who was still standing atop a scaffolding with other off color gems, looked over at Pink Moonstone, "Things must have really changed on the surface…" she mused.
"Yeah…but how much?" Question back Pink Moonstone.
Yellow Diamond
Currently in the midst of a conversation with Blue as the two of them sat within the blue Matriarchs lounge room, Yellow crossed her arms and legs as she relaxed back into one of Blue's cushioned chairs, "-And that's just the beginning part of how I made my Citrine gem, it's a bit intensive work for the first three decades, it was one of the chief reasons I had my Beryll take a good chunk of my operations under her, while I worked on my project."
"Hmm." Blue diamond hummed in musing as she sat in her own stylized cushioned chair as she conversed with her sister diamond, she steepled her fingers while her face exhibited a focus look, "Three decades is quite short, that something I can work with." she nodded.
Yellow made a flippant gesture with her hand, "Your experience may differ Blue, afterall, this would be a second attempt of what I've done, so you'll be working off what I've already accomplished, so at the very least, you'll have my notes to work off from, which will expedite the process if possible, of not make an adjustment to your schedules, as you'll be needing to check on the planet of your choice very periods at a time to keep an eye on the ongoing process."
Blue Diamond stared at Yellow with an understanding look, and nodded in satisfaction, "With my former administrator imprisoned at the moment for a trial later, I will have a need for a new one, one that will not fail should I be away for too long."
Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes at Blue Diamond, "Please tell me you have no plans on going back to grieve on that wasteful zoo of hers."
With an uncertain look, Blue Diamond made a forlorn look, "Please don't talk like that, it was her's, and it's a legacy of hers I wish to keep around."
"Please. Blue." Yellow Diamond Scoffed at Blue Diamond, "You created the zoo for Pink to have those primitive organics to play with, while she could continue her duty of colonizing that blasted planet!" she spat out the last part as if the thought of merely mentioning Pink's colony was poison on her tongue, metaphorically.
"That may be so! But those organics are from her planet!" Blue Diamond argued with a pointed look.
Yellow Diamond pinched the bridge of her nose, and sighed with her eyes clenched in annoyance, "Let's not get any further into this argument Blue, it never gets us anywhere." she stated in an exasperated tone, to which Blue Diamond nodded slowly in agreement, before Yellow looked back at Blue. "You're almost as bad as My Citrine gem wanting those Rose Quartz gems to serve as a hoplite regiment!"
"Hoplite regiment?" Blue diamond asked in a curious tone, and reached up to deftly touch her chin in thought, "Is that part of that Art of War thing she once told me about?" she asked Yellow.
"..." Yellow Diamond's eyes widened a bit, surprised, before answering Blue with an intrigued look, "Art what now?" she questioned.
"Oh…you didn't know?" Blue diamond question with a brow lifted of inquisitiveness, "She once said something about there being more to war, and that there was an art to it, or something to that effect." she remarked with a tilted head of curiosity while looking off up in thought.
"Hm." Yellow mused as she shifted a bit in her seat as she uncrossed her legs while relaxing her arms to cupped her chin in thought as she leaned forward a bit, her other palm rested on her lap as she sat forward, "She's developing quite further than I calculated…"
"Excuse me?" Blue asked her fellow Matriarch, at which Yellow followed up with speaking to Blue's questioning look.
"Nothing really, just some additional traits I didn't foresee coming." Yellow Diamond shrugged haphazardly, "If anything, I suppose she's just adapting as I'd expect my Citrine gem to do." she answered Blue in a carefree tone.
"...Adapt?...I…suppose that would be needed for a gem of her caliber…given the many rebellions I've read about…among many other incidents…" Blue Diamond remarked with a expression of inquisitiveness once more.