There was a silence, a soft quietness that was barely holding together. She looked around herself, a smile on her face as she went about looking. Around the pillar, under the altar, in amongst the bushes of her defining hibiscus blooms. Yet, nothing. She couldn't find her. The struggling silence popped, like a bubble, which was fitting, as she heard air bubbles pop out from the surface of the pond. She walked closer, but the bubbles were gone, like they were never there. She got on her knees, bent forward and peered long into the deep blue and now still waters. Greeted by her pink puffy reflection, she wondered if she imagined the air bubbles in the first place. Then, just as she was questioning herself, her still pink and blue tinged reflection moved, disrupted by another bubble. It happened fast, the bubbles started to increase in their numbers as they rose to the surface, she heard a rush underneath the pond when she suddenly found herself wrapped in rubber like arms that pulled her into the shallow waters, making a splash that rained close on the pink hibiscus that filled the garden they were playing in.
They stared at each other for a moment before she burst out with laughter as she grabbed her smaller friend, "Oh, you got me good there Spinel! I never thought you would hide under water. You really come up with the wildest ideas of how to hide whenever we play this silly game. Look how wet you got me!"
The smaller gem gave Pink the biggest grin she could muster as her dancing eyes bounced around. She was the happiest she could be whenever she was with Pink. She jumped onto the Diamond's shoulder as Pink stood up from the pond they were sitting in. Excitedly she asked Pink, "That was fun! Do you want to go again, oh we could play another game if you want! Let's play tag!"
Before giving her a chance to respond, Spinel jumped off Pink's shoulder onto the ground with a squeak of her pink boots as she stretched out her hand to tag her friend.
"Tag your it!" she said as she started running away laughing, her boots squeaking like a rubber duck with each step she took.
Pink's tired eyes watched her run off as she smiled, her mind going elsewhere before she was interrupted by a sudden incoming call from the direct Diamond line connected to the Garden.
It was Yellow and Blue. Immediately Pink ran to the to the Diamond line, nervous and curious as to why both Yellow and Blue where contacting her here while she was in the Garden.
"Pink, there you are!" said Blue excitedly, "We have a gift for you." Blue was smiling with Yellow besides her
As Spinel made her way to Pink, Yellow cut in, "Oh, come now Blue, stop with the shenanigans, let's not keeping her waiting too long. You making her worried."
Pink clasped her hands together as she looked nervously at the two Diamonds in front of her wondering what this sudden gift was about.
"Ah, well Pink; Yellow, White and I have been discussing and we all feel it's time you come to into your own. So, with that…we have decided to give you what you've been asking for. A planet called Earth! You can finally start on building your very own colony! Isn't this exciting?!"
Pink was overjoyed beyond words, so much so she didn't know how to respond and could only thank her fellow Diamonds repeatedly to show her undying gratitude. Finally, after all this time, she was getting the one thing she desired most, a colony! And most importantly a chance to prove herself and be equal with the other Diamonds.
Hearing this, Spinel too was beaming with joy as now her and Pink had a brand-new place to play. The countless opportunities of endless fun were now racing through her head as she jumped up and down around Pink who was intently listening to Yellow and Blue explain to her the duties and new responsibilities of running a colony, and how this was her opportunity to show them she can handle it.
Pink nodded excitedly and nervously, feeling like this was all a dream. The Diamonds told her she was to go and see it for herself at this very moment. Since it was her first, they told her it was important she witnessed the cleaning of the planet for herself. This was when her second surprise was gifted to her, her own clean-up crew, a personal gift from White, the last remaining Saiyans. Put in a Zoo built for Pink to visit anytime she wanted to see them. It was a known fact amongst the other Diamonds how much Pink was fond of the Saiyans despite their brutish nature, they were amongst the very few intelligent life forms that existed and she enjoyed visiting planet Sadala to observe their daily on goings before White wiped the planet clean and claimed it as her own personal haven. Hearing that the few that were kept were now hers was almost as great a gift as getting her own planet. This was truly bliss for her.
She made her way to the warp pad, excited to view her new world for herself. Spinel followed behind her, arguably even more excited than Pink. Her wide smilebrimming with pure joy as her best friend finally got what she had been dreaming of and now they had not only a small garden to play, but an entire planet to have fun in and explore, oh what wonders they would find and do together, she could hardly keep her form together. All she had to do now was to play one last game here with Pink before they set off for their new adventure together. A promise to Pink made to her that if she won, they could play all day long on the new world together! So, all she had to do was wait perfectly still for Pink until she came back for her. It wouldn't be long until Pink returned, she was determined to win, and when she did, they would play together all day…
It had been close to a century since the remainder of the Saiyan race were stationed at Pink Diamonds Zoo by White. Their home world now a personal playground for the diamond that took it from them, they bided their time and began to grow their numbers once again as they waited within the Zoo. Their intel was limited but from what they could gather, this zoo was built by White and the other diamonds for Pink, a gift they planned on giving her when they felt the time was right. Their mighty warrior race had now been reduced to this, nothing more than a display piece and birthday present for a child, that was the only reason a select number of them were spared. It was an insult to their honour, one they were determined to rectify. Now after nearly a century of waiting, their opportunity had finally come to pass. After being told that Pink was now given a colony and that their mission was to carry out an organic cleanup sweep of the planet's surface, the current King Vegeta carried forward a plan that had been in the making since the day the Saiyans first stepped foot onto this ship. To the Saiyans, it was either success and freedom from Diamond tyranny, or death in the second fight for liberation, there is was no other option. Now finally, after all this time they had finally done it, the Zoo was theirs. The fight was quick and the number of Saiyan causalities were kept to a minimum. The Quartz that warden them on this prison had grown soft and had forgotten about the strength the Saiyans possessed, a fact that proved to be their undoing. Now no longer mocking them like zoo exhibits, every single quartz that disgraced them was now shattered beneath their boots, the only one kept intact being the agate commander herself. Only for the purposes of relying a message to home world that all was on schedule for the Earth's clean up.
"She should be reforming anytime now, are you sure we shouldn't just crush her gem like the rest?" asked Shallot, the current King Vegeta second in command.
"No, we don't need the trouble of more gem soldiers appearing and looking for a fight. We caught these useless rocks off guard due to our passive behaviour these last few years. If anymore show up now due to a cease in communication, they will come in the thousands and all our plans would be for naught. The Gems we shattered here belong to the court of Blue Diamond, that in itself is a problem. We need to get to the Ear-" just as the King was speaking, the agate gem rose into the air, and a lit up, indicating a readiness to reform. Vegeta quietened and waited, smiling at the newly formed agate who was petrified at the sight of the shattered quartz on the floor surrounding her.
"This is a little gift for you, a reminder of what we will do to you if you don't follow my commands." Vegeta now loomed over her awaiting a response to his threat.
"Y-You will just shatter me anyway, much like the rest." her voice was shaky but her resolve remained firm.
"I like that." said Vegeta smirking. Coming into the room was a quartz soldier brought in by Shallot and a few other Saiyans for good measure.
Turning to Shallot, Vegeta asked, "Where is it's gem?"
"Here, on the center of the back." said Shallot
Vegeta walked up behind the quartz and placed a firm hand on her back, covering the gem in his hand.
"What do you want with me?" asked the quartz soldier
Ignoring the question directed at him, he asked the agate, "What's it going to be?"
Confused, the Holly blue began to respond, "What are you doing?"
Suddenly as if an explosive was triggered, the quartz soldier was obliterated by a large explosion of energy erupting from the Vegeta's hand with quarts gem being shattered and then obliterated into dust by the Kings blast. "Wrong answer." his voice was harsh and cold as he sent for the next quartz soldier to be brought in.
"All of us live for Blue Diamond! We gladly give our gems to protect her Grace's empire!" the agate exclaimed.
The king scoffed off the agates remarks, "Well then, that makes this easier. You see I don't plan on killing you. I know what your world does to broken gems. So, I'm going to destroy your form, and each time I do, I will crack your gem little by little, leaving you in a more pathetic and deformed state than other broken gem. If you still refuse to talk by then, we will cast you back to your home world immediately. In such a decrepit state, they will hunt you down immediately with the rest of your off colours. If you die here, you will be hailed a hero on home world, death resulting by resisting the Saiyan enemy. You will go down in history as a gem hero. That is the death I offer you once you do my bidding. On the other hand, if you refuse, you will be hunted by your own kind. Held responsible as a deserter and traitor of the massacre of gems that took place here today. At that moment you will be known as a malformed disgusting mistake of a gem, before long, you will be forgotten like the trash your kind really are. A failure. Those are your two choices agate. So, what will it be?" Vegeta throughout his entire dialogue did not once take his eyes away from Holly blue, not even to blink, watching for the moment when her resolve morphed into absolute dread and misery.
Feeling herself fading and knowing he meant every word like the vile beast he is; Holly blue felt her resolve die, he had defeated her. He was right, that was the undeniable truth of her situation that had just dawned a look of pure fear and terror on her face.
"I-I…(Sigh) What do you want from me?" she said, the heaviness in her voice echoing her defeat.
The King smiled, as he responded simply, "What I want is a simple request. Once you might even approve of… to carry out the mission and head to earth for Pink Diamond."
It didn't take long for her to reach the Earth in her legs. Coming into view of the blue ball Pink sat there in awe as her eyes lit up. Her Pearl looked up at her and shied away. Not wanting to attract any unnecessary attention to herself.
"Pearl, isn't it wonderful?! Oh, it's just simply marvelous!" Pink was unable to hold back her feelings and be the strategic and firm Diamond Yellow told her to be when running her own colony at this moment.
"Yes, my Diamond! It is truly a magnificent specimen!" Pearl said echoing her Diamonds words and sentiment
"Oh, I hope I can do this. Yellow and Blue are counting on me. I don't want to disappoint them." Pink said to her new Pearl nervously, trying to develop a bond with her.
"Oh no, my Diamond!" Pearl exclaimed, "You are the pinnacle of perfection. You can do no wrong! I am familiar with the startup process of building a new colony. So even if you do feel there is too much on your shoulders, I will carry your burdens and assist you along the way."
Pink looked at Pearl, unsure what to say in response, decided just to ask about the current update status of the colony.
"We are the 37th vessel to arrive my Diamond. One unmanned ship has touched the surface and the other thirty-five have currently landed on this planets satellite. Since it is devoid of all life, your Diamond base can be worked on immediately without the need for organic cleanup. The planet itself has only been subjected to injectors sent to a remote part of the planet where the organic life seems not to dwell in large numbers to start working on beta Kindergarten, we are currently awaiting the arrival of the Saiyans to clean the remainder of the planet's surface before the beta gems emerge. They shall be arriving in a few short hours."
Pink faced appeared to be annoyed, "Earth."
"Excuse me my Diamond?" said a confused Pearl.
"The planet, it has a name, it's called Earth. Use it." said Pink who had grown fond of her little blue ball.
"Oh of course, forgive my insolence my Diamond." apologized a deeply sorry Pearl.
After hearing Pearls update, Pink realized that no warp pad had been worked on for the planet and therefore her only way to get to it was to fly her legs down to the surface itself. After getting her legs locked into the Earth's orbit and making the suggestion to Pearl that she wanted to visit the Earth and see it for herself, a few gems were dispatched to build a warp pad that linked directly to her legs. This was done to avoid any damage incurring to the ship by the local organic life and by the inevitable arrival of the Saiyans.
"The warp pad will be ready in just under an hour my Diamond. Clear instructions were given to report as soon as the pad is installed." Pearl informed her, and soon enough it was ready. Pink's mind was set on warping down to earth alone, to see her world before the arrival of the Saiyans who would strip the rock bare. It was at this very moment, where two entire worlds, two entire civilizations would change forever.
The instant the light of the warp pad faded, she was taken away by a view that shook her very gem. When the dim blue light faded; Pink was given a warm greeting by a shifting blue sky that now burst with colours that flooded her blushing eyes, an exploding aura of orange that dipped into crimson shades of rose and golden ambers of varying intensities as these shimmering hues rushed towards her, evening touching upon her own shy tinge that blossomed across the azure sky and seemingly into the star itself, all these wild and surreal lights illuminating from the once white star now hiding beyond the horizon, all fragmented into a wild bouquet of lucent colours that flashed before her eyes, filtered through the Earth's atmosphere.
The blue light faded, its shallow shade slowly giving way to a green hue, a colour with pastures that grew in its vivid glow as the blue dissipated from her eyes. She was awe struck when she found herself suddenly consumed in vast lush grass fields that stretched as far as her flushed eyes could see. The blue in front of her was completely gone, yet as she stood on the pale warp pad, she looked up and found that it was still there, lingering above her, the warp light had spread and covered the sky all around her. Yet, now, its shade was not the colour was she remembered. This blue cast was deep, as deep as the green world that she was lost in. Never before had she seen such depth in colour, the shine of this world even outmatched the lustre Blue Diamond. She was trapped in this prism of light, fashioned from a world which she had no desire to escape from, but rather desired to sink further into. This overwhelming sensation was one she revealed in, it frightened her, leaving shivers throughout her gem, a feeling she had never before had the pleasure of experiencing, just like calm winds passing gently through her soft cotton candy like hair. It was almost unbelievable to her, that such a world could belong her and her alone. The earth was…nothing like she could imagine, all these feelings, all these tender wild thoughts, just at the first sight. Euphoria, a word that could only echo the true feelings she felt beaming through her shy gem.
She heard laughter, words being exchanged, dialogue of a native yet alien language she couldn't understand. She turned and saw them walking about the grass fields, a pair of humans, a large one with a smaller one their shoulders carrying a basket. They hadn't noticed her yet. She didn't want them too. They seemed happy, they were organic, but to Pink, they shone brighter than any gem she had ever encountered, with colours that she had never before seen.
It was only a moment, and she found herself with a tear falling from her eye, because it was then she came to understand…life does not begin in a Kindergarten, it ends there.
Now for the first time, she was about to step off the warp pad, her slipper to touch the soil of her earth, when the voice of her Pearl appeared inside her mind, "I'm sorry to disturb you my Diamond, it seems that the Saiyans are ahead of schedule and shall touch down on the planet within a few short moments. I apologize to cut your visit short but you best make haste to return before they arrive." Pearl's clear and harmonized voice was like a scissors that cut her off from this surreal world she had just lost herself in and brought her mind back to reality. Without saying a word, she raised her hovering foot and placed it backdown on the warp pad. It was now she that she had snapped back to her own reality that she felt an incredible emptiness inside her, one which she had never felt before, or at least, one she could deny no longer.
'At least, this world did not get the chance to be sullied by my presence, I will not allow my stain to tarnish such a creation. When it disappears, it will have kept its purity right until the very end.'
The fading blue light surround her once more, completely closing her off from the earths rich glimmer, before taking her way back to her ship.
Pink was back on her ship, her legs now orbiting the earth just like the satellite that her Diamond base was being built on. She was quiet and she stood on the warp pad, her eyes focused on the window she asked Pearl to pull up so she can view the sight of her blue planet within her legs. Her expression was a concoction of pain, joy and absolute guilt. When Pearl showed up next to her, she was shocked to find her Diamonds with tears in her eyes. Asking what was wrong and how she could help her in any way she can.
Pink simply stood there, Pearls words falling on deaf ears as her own gem was racing with mixture of emotions she had never felt before. It was only a moment, a split second, a love at first sight. This small and insignificant blue ball floating throughout space belong to a system of stars not worth much had given her something beyond her own comprehension, it was a gift she didn't ask for nor deserve. She was grateful, a feeling of humbleness she had never experienced before consumed her, this world did not belong to her, the earth was not hers, she was not worthy of it. She found herself thinking, earth is a gem in and of itself, the last of a pure cut no Diamond could compare to.
"Pearl, must I really destroy such a beautiful world?" she asked, her eyes glued onto the image of the Earth in front of her
Pearl was slightly confused by Pink's words yet chose to keep this to herself, " You are creating a new world my Diamond, the Earth will be your new home, a colony created my your design as you see fit, you will take earth and transform it into a civilization for gemkind that exceeds all previous set colony limitations. An earth with true brimming potential and life, my Diamond."
Before Pink got the chance to speak, Pearl announced the arrival of the Saiyans, a news that the Diamond dreaded as she took her seat, preparing herself to witness the surface a world she desperately wished she had gotten the chance to know get completely destroyed.
The arrival of the Saiyans was as if there where countless shooting stars in the sky all about to rain down towards the earth. Pink knew how this process was supposed to work, as the individual pods of the Saiyans would race towards the planet, they would then split like the petals of a blooming flower and spread across the entire surface of the planet to ensure it was completely cleaned before meeting at a chosen destination after it was done. Yet, this was not the turn of events that transpired. Suddenly, the shooting stars towards the earth did not bloom as she expected but split, a third of their forces rushing towards the earths satellite, another third to the earth surface itself and the final lot moving towards her own location on her ship.
Shocked by this turn of events she quickly turned and asked Pearl what was going on, "Pearl, what's happening, what are they doing?"
"I-I do not know my Diamond. This is not standard protocol." Pearl responded worriedly
"Pull up the feed from the Earth, I want to see what's going on." she directed instructions to Pearl who immediately did so.
It was then that what they saw was a horrid unexpected image that hit them hard and cut deep into their gems. Countless gems being completely shattered and obliterated just as they emerged from the dust of the earth. None of them stood a chance, those who were still incubating inside the earth being blasted by the Saiyans to pieces not being allowed to even see the light of day. It was a massacre of an unprecedented scale, reducing the beta Kindergarten to absolute ash, all except from one gem who had emerged just as she was about to obliterated inside the dirt of the earth and immediately adjusted to the situation at hand.
Pink and her pearl watched in absolute shock as the Quartz gem fought her way through the rebelling Saiyans, crushing their skulls with her bare hands and using her helmet to ram into hordes of them at a time, fighting her way to the warp pad.
It was then that this gem came face to face with Shallot, a Saiyan that served at Vegeta's right hand, he was the one leading the attack on the earth's surface.
Just newly formed, this Quartz Jasper was not able yet to properly differentiate the different levels of strength between the Saiyans, but with this one, she could immediately tell just by looking at him that he was in a different league of his own. She smiled, excited at the challenge as he lunged at her, but as she was preparing her counter attack he suddenly disappeared and was then hit into the ground from behind seemingly with the weight of a boulder that caught her off guard. Before she had the time to get back up, she found herself being pummeled into the ground right before being flung into the air. As she was midair, Shallot arm rushed towards her, his hand taking hold her face in a vice grip as she felt his energy gathering at the center of his palm right where her gem was located, ready to blast her into smithereens.
On instinct, she summoned her helmet out of her gem once again, forcing a shocked Shallot to release his grip and allowing her an opening of which she took full advantage of. Quickly she curled her body and spun into him, ramming him in the chest with the head of her helmet causing him to fly into the cliffside, creating a crater within it due to the sheer raw power that she put into her attack. Using her built up momentum, she smashed her fist into him continuously deepening the cliff side crater as she let out a crazed laughter before grabbing and throwing him up by the waist. Following suit, Jasper jumped, soaring pass the nearly unconscious Shallot bring her legs up only to stomp him back into the ground below with enough force to shake the cliffside they fought under.
Shallot, now barely holding on, could feel the heel of Jasper's boots press deep into his back. His blood feeling as if it was boiling within him, he refused to let this be the end. 'Not like this, not by a damn gem' he told himself. He summoned the last of strength, his white aura now burning so hot that Jasper flinched at the heat coming off of Shallot. He grabbed her heel, his grip fueled with hatred that gave him the strength needed to hold her in place no matter how hard she struggled.
He looked up at her his face all blooded and beaten as he smiled at her, "This is only the beginning. You and your kind will be dealt the same hand of judgement you cursed the Saiyans too. Your diamond will be the first, but before we shatter her, I'm taking you with me." Jasper looked up at the sky, to where Pink's legs could be seen, noting the spacecraft hurling towards the planet as it broke apart. Shallots words echoed in her mind as she could only utter a single word before he released his energy and exploded, "No…"
The blast was large enough to be seen from across the entire Kindergarten, briefly pausing the ongoing battle as the energy roared in the star lit sky, creating the illusion of a dawning sun across the horizon. Shallot's and Jasper's battle, was over.
It all seemed unbelievably quiet, as if nothing had ever happened. Only the echoes of gently cracking fires could be heard in the distance as the pink legs went up aflame. Amongst the wreckage, a newly reformed and badly beaten Jasper searched for any sign of her Diamond. Amongst the bodies she pushed aside and the broken gems she stepped over, nothing there had told her what had happened to Pink. Growing fearful and frustrated, she screamed and punched the floor of the burning ship, the force of her strike restarting the ships onboard system that then extinguished the flames so that spacecraft might be salvaged before sounding an alarm. She noticed that the reason for the alert was to announce the deployment of a secondary craft from within the diamond headquarters of the ship. Jasper feel to the ground relieved. Knowing that the only one that could deploy that particular craft was Pink Diamond herself, her course was plotted for home world. It could only be her, no Saiyan would dare go there. She cried, her diamond was safe, she had fulfilled her duty, now she just needed to find her own way home.