Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The trial was a mess.

Blue Pearl knew it would go wrong the instant she saw the accused. Instead of the imposing rebel Rose Quartz, she saw a human with a Rose Quartz gem. Everything the human said was self contradictory, leaving Pearl to believe that their knowledge of the events was only tangential second-hand information. If that thought is true, then no one at the trial actually knew what happened to Pink Diamond. Blue Zircon might have actually had a point that Rose couldn't have shattered Pink. Given that Blue Diamond is currently trying her best to hold her emotions in until they reach the matriarch's private room, Pearl figures that she knows this, too.

One thing stuck with her, however. Blue Zircon's comments about the whereabouts of Pink's Pearl.

Between herself and Yellow Pearl, the two of them had a close relationship with both of Pink Diamond's Pearls. 

The Pearl that accompanied the Ruby and Sapphire at the zoo was certainly familiar, Yellow Pearl recognized her too. They had brushed it off as a coincidence at first, a Pearl looking so close to Pink's last one, alongside a familiar Sapphire at that? There are billions of Rubies, Sapphires, and Pearls in the empire, some of them are bound to look familiar at some point. Occasionally, they even see Pearls that look like the ones White Diamond used to have. 

Their Diamonds may have forgotten the gems, but the Pearls haven't.

The Pearls both recognized the Ruby and Sapphire from the Sky Arena of Earth, as well as the Legendary Renegade Pearl. They both watched as the rebels snuck two humans out, one of them being the human that approached Blue Diamond at Pink's Palanquin.

Blue Pearl knows the Renegade. Nacre could identify her from three planets away, but Blue Pearl could recognize the Renegade anywhere. How could she not? She has the same color palate, the same hair, the same gem placement, the same tone of voice, and the same subtle ticks that make every Pearl unique. To Blue and Yellow Pearl, it is painfully obvious that the Renegade Pearl was Pink's most recent one.

Two Crystal Gems stood in front of the Diamonds and lied to their faces. They got away with it, too. The two Pearls had a laugh about that when they got back to the palace and had some time between assignments. Crystal Gems were on the same space station as the two active Diamonds of Homeworld and the matriarchs were none the wiser.

Though that does raise a question. How were they still alive? White, Yellow, and Blue Diamond combined their powers and attacked the Earth, obliterating every gem on the surface. There should be no survivors.

Regardless, they survived and she didn't tell her Diamond. To be fair, Blue Diamond never asked and Pearls are not to speak out of turn. She feels a certain satisfaction at that, Pearls have a network of loopholes that they exploit occasionally to protect one another, the biggest is technicalities of orders. Ordered not to talk about something? Showing isn't speaking. Their owners didn't ask about the strange gems? Their owners don't need to know about the strange gems.

Blue Pearl and her Diamond reach the matriarch's private room, Pearl moving to her perch while Blue Diamond slumps against the wall, tears streaming down her face. Her perch is a comfortable little thing that her Diamond has blessed her with. Most Pearls never have the level of comfort a Diamond's Pearl is given, especially not the level that Blue Diamond gave her.

Part of her wishes that she could share the comfort with Blue Zircon. Pearl always found her company particularly pleasing, Zircon's anxious yet clever wit always capable of bringing a smile to Pearl's face. Quick kisses and wishes of good luck were a regular occurrence between the two.

Her sweet Moonlight had a point, Rose Quartz definitely didn't shatter Pink Diamond. The only question now is "Who did?"

"Pearl." Blue Diamond's quiet voice fills the room, bringing Pearl out of her thoughts, "What did you think about the trial? Please, be honest."

Pearl pauses.

"I think, My Diamond," She starts cautiously, as to not upset Blue Diamond any more than she already is, "That while Zircon was out of line implying that a Diamond shattered one of their own, I believe that she had a point about Rose Quartz being incapable of doing the deed herself."

"So we're back at square one." Blue Diamond sorrowfully sighs, "I just want closure, Pearl. Is that too much to ask?"

"No, My Diamond." Pearl replies, before pausing to think about if she should mention the Renegade Pearl. On one hand, the information could provide a lead to help the Diamond get her closure. On the other hand, she doesn't want to sell her friend out. She decides the former, "If it helps, there is a possibility that the Renegade Pearl belonged to Pink Diamond."

Blue Diamond locks eyes with her, and it's right then that Pearl truly realizes how exhausted the Diamond is. Six thousand years of mourning painfully evident on her face, her eyes look at her with a pleading tiredness that compels her to answer. She cares about her Diamond, and her Diamond cares about her.

"I would need to consult the archives to be absolutely certain, but there are similarities that only a Pearl would notice." Pearl says, her voice steady, "Small details in the hair, eyes, and mannerisms that our owners tend to miss. Pearls tend to notice other Pearls more than their owners do."

"And you're confident that the similarities are enough to support your theory?" Blue Diamond softly asks.

"I can recognize and name every gem in the palace, as well as in the Capitol city, My Diamond." Pearl confirms, "I am certain I can recognize a Pearl I grew close to during her service."

Pearl decides not to mention that said Renegade invited her to be a Crystal Gem at one point. She said no, but Blue Diamond doesn't need to know. The Renegade wished her the best and it never came up again.

"Do you think she could have shattered Pink?" Blue Diamond asks, her voice almost begging for an answer.

"No, My Diamond." Blue Pearl shakes her head, "I knew her well enough to know that Pink Diamond's Pearl loved her with all of her gem. She would never have shattered Pink Diamond. I feel that the information could prove to be a useful step-"

Pearl tenses sharply as her mind reaches an unpleasant conclusion, cutting herself off abruptly. She would need to consult Blue Zircon with her theory, but by the stars she hopes that she's wrong. Pink Diamond's Pearl wouldn't have shattered her, but who says that Pink necessarily was shattered to begin with? The organic's gem was slightly off color, which she figured could have been a consistent trick of the light, but that…

Blue Diamond looks at her with curiosity in her eyes as her Pearl starts drawing her finger pointedly in the air, connecting dots neither can see. Her entire demeanor shifted from loose and gentle to sharp and precise with an unspoken realization. When Blue Pearl speaks next, Blue Diamond listens.

"I need to speak to Blue Zircon."

Chapter Text

Being bubbled is a lot like sleeping.

For gems in Blue Zircon's situation, it generally means that they're on their way to be harvested.

The last thing she expected when the bubble popped was to reform in Blue Pearl's personal nest. Tensely, she scans her surroundings as she regains her bearings. Reforming is not ultimately an unpleasant experience, but Zircons were hardly made for it. Soldiers are built to reform in mere hours with minimal disorientation, and while Zircons are made to be able to handle the particularly rowdy clients, short reformation cycles always put Blue Zircon off balance for a minute.

Looking up, the first thing Zircon notices is Blue Pearl's tense posture. She looks like she's seen something that absolutely horrified her, and Zircon hopes with all her gem that the horrified look isn't directed at her. The lawyer isn't sure she could take it.

The second thing she notices is Blue Diamond. Zircon snaps herself into a perfectly rigid salute as she bows at a 90 degree angle, terror flooding her nonexistent veins.

"My Diamond!" Zircon greets, not even trying to hide the panic in her face.

"At ease Zircon." Blue Diamond ushers, "My Pearl needed to speak with you. From the sound of her tone, it seems urgent."

"Of course, My Diamond!" Zircon replies, "I thank your perfect mercy that I am not shattered!"

"Zircon, I have a theory that Pink Diamond's Pearl was involved in Pink Diamond's shattering." Blue Pearl states simply and matter-of-factly.

"But what motive would she have had?" Zircon questions.

"Does she need a motive?" Pearl challenges, "It could have been an order."

"But who could have given her the order?" Zircon retorts, "A Diamond's Pearl is hard programmed to not be able to take orders from any gem that isn't a Diamond by default, you know this."

"Someone who believed that the colonization of Earth was wrong." Pearl responds, "What about the fact that gems saw Rose Quartz commit the crime?"

Blue Diamond watches the two work, a seamless dance of words building a case before her very eyes. The sight is impressive, she idly thinks to herself. The two have a synergy she rarely sees outside of Topaz pairs and Ruby squads. It's adorable.

"Shapeshifting could have been involved." Zircon states as if it's obvious, "It's been phased out of Era Twos like me, but all gems could shapeshift in Era One. The main issue with that falls to color pallets, changing those is a procedure only a few gems have ever used, and the ones that have gone through with it report it as the most painful thing they could ever experience, shy of shattering, of course."

Pearl focuses on her form, slowly growing and shifting into a long haired Agate. She focuses on making sure the hair covers her pearl, creating a similar loop of hair to the one her Diamond has. A blue agate gem appears on her left shoulder, facing Blue Diamond. "That part of the theory checks out. It is uncomfortable to hold this form for long, but it is definitely possible in short periods. Plenty of time to shatter a gem."

Blue Pearl relaxes her form back into its proper shape in a glow and with a breath. The thought of shapeshifting reminds her of Pink Diamond's playmate, a perfect Pink Spinel. No one has seen her in ages, it's almost like she never existed. Spinels aren't all that common around the palace, only a few have ever been made to her recollection.

"My Diamond?" Pearl asks suddenly, "What happened to Pink Diamond's Spinel?"

"I'm not sure." Blue Diamond admits, "We haven't heard or seen anything of her since the shattering. We can check Pink's Garden for her later."

"We're still left with the question of how anyone got close enough to Pink Diamond's Pearl to convince her to shatter her own Diamond." Zircon speaks up, returning the focus to the case.

"I remember the times Pink Diamond would call My Diamond, she always seemed upset by something. Even more so when My Diamond would tell her to finish the colonization." Pearl remembers aloud, seemingly off topic, "Pink Diamond was always impulsive, she would pass through an area like a whirlwind for no other reasons than to pass through. On top of that, she was highly sentimental. Her Pearl would follow her every word, she deeply cared for her Diamond, perhaps more than was appropriate. Who says Pink Diamond wasn't involved with this herself?"

"How do you explain the Rose Quartz gem embedded in the human child?" Zircon inquires.

"According to this theory, that wasn't a Rose Quartz."

Blue Diamond pauses and looks at her Pearl, Zircon does the same.

"Wait, don't tell me." Zircon groans, rubbing her temples with one hand in thought, "You think Pink Diamond was so miserable running her colony that she took a whirlwind tour of Earth, got attached to the native organic life, and started a war against herself when the other Diamonds refused to let her halt the production of gems on the planet. You're trying to say Rose Quartz was Pink Diamond in disguise all along, and that her shattering was staged as an ultimate motivator to keep the Diamonds away from Earth."

Pearl nods, "That is exactly right."

Zircon looks at Pearl, really looks at her. She's never sounded so confident in a theory before in all the time they've known each other. The more she thinks about it, the more Pearl's theory makes sense.

"The worst part is, it fills in every gap in the original argument." Zircon sighs, taking her monocle off and running a hand down her face, "Rose Quartz had no business being there, but her Pearl did. Pink Diamond could have made it so that she was alone and without her entourage when the deed happened. The hair would have covered her Pearl, allowing her to poof Pink Diamond and run off with her gem. Pink Diamond could later reform as Rose Quartz before the other Diamonds launched their full scale assault on the planet which a few of the Crystal Gems somehow survived, probably due to Rose's Diamond powers. The only thing this doesn't explain is the distinct lack of memories."

"Perhaps, in the process that she became one with the organic child, her gem underwent a similar process to that of a rejuvenator. If her gem reformatted itself entirely to be able to be one with the organic, that could explain the lack of memories."

"And it all sounds like something Pink would do." Blue Diamond whispers, her voice quiet, but thick with emotion. As the Diamond's emotional powers loose themselves on the gems in the room, Pearl and Zircon hunker down in the nest for what they both know is going to be a long, mourning cry from their Diamond.

Chapter Text

It took two uncomfortable hours for Blue Diamond to stop crying.

"It really is our fault, isn't it?" She mournfully asks to no one in particular, merely voicing her thoughts.

"Forgive me, My Diamond!" Zircon panickedly ushers out, "I should never have said such a thing!"

"No. I needed to hear this." Blue Diamond wipes her eyes, her voice low with regrets, "I always thought that she was failing this world, when we were the ones failing her."

She drags herself over to the window of her private chamber, looking out over the bustling capital city below. White's empire is vast, and she is just another cog in the machine. She loved Pink, truly did care for her. However, the rift that formed between them was fate, at least with the world around them.

"Perhaps the Zoo could provide some useful insights on how the hybrid could have come to be?" Pearl offers cautiously.

The Diamond sighs.

"Perhaps, Pearl. Perhaps."

She leans her head against the wall as she reaches for the nearest Diamond Line. Blue Diamond holds the communicator in her hands, quietly looking over the device with an unreadable expression, somewhere adjacent to hesitant sorrow. She arranges it to call Yellow and straightens herself up as the display prepares itself.

"Yellow," Blue starts, "I'm going to take a brief trip to Pink's Zoo to ask something of the Peridots stationed there."

"You were just there, Blue. Why don't you just call them?" Yellow sighs.

"I need some time to clear my head after that mess of a trial, and some things are better handled in person." Blue Diamond explains, "There are some things that I would like to be clarified in regards to a few theories of mine that I'll inform you about later. It will only be a brief trip, afterwards I intend on visiting Pink's garden to see if she left her Spinel there. Afterwards, we need to talk about that trial."

"Of course, don't take too long."

"I won't." Blue Diamond assures with a nod, "I'll be taking my ship. If Rose has somehow made it off planet, the element of surprise could be useful. My ship can handle anything she tries to throw at me."

"Will there be any gems accompanying you?"

"If it's not too much trouble, the squad of Rubies you sent to retrieve your Jasper?" Blue requests, "I don't feel like a full guard is necessary for the trip, but having a few Rubies with me couldn't hurt."

"I'll add the Aquamarine and her Topazes in for good measure since Rose is stars knows where. The crew will be awaiting your arrival at dock B3-6KM."

"Thank you, Yellow."

☆◇☆

White Pearl watches as the blue arm ship leaves Homeworld's atmosphere, her eye trained on the red ship with interest. She noticed that the Blue Zircon never made it to the proper location. The Zircon should currently be in a cell, awaiting her own trial, but Blue Diamond decided that wouldn't be necessary apparently. She always was one of the more sentimental Diamonds.

The bleached white Pearl paid close attention to what Blue Diamond's Pearl and the Zircon were saying about Pink Diamond's Shattering. There are eyes and ears everywhere, if they thought they could work beyond White's influence, they are sorely mistaken.

The Pearl's unnervingly unnatural smile widens slightly, well, at least Blue has finally noticed and joined the game.

White wonders just how much Blue Diamond will be able to discover on her journey.

Chapter Text

The gems sit in the cockpit of Blue Diamond's arm ship tensely. A Diamond being accompanied by a small guard of a few gems, even on a short trip, is not an uncommon thing. Loneliness stabs at any gem, the company of others is constantly alluring.

The Rubies sit along the sides, helping pilot the ship alongside Blue's Pearl as they occasionally call out coordinates and directions to each other.

Aquamarine flits around the room, keeping a silently vigilant eye on the Rubies as they work in an effort to make sure none disturb the present Diamond. At the back, the Topaz guards stand in their sentinel, staring out the view screen as stars pass on by.

The atmosphere in the room is not unnoticed by Blue Diamond.

"You Rubies encountered the Crystal Gems, correct?" The matriarch asks, breaking the tense silence.

"Correct, My Diamond." Eyeball nods.

"How did that turn out for you?"

"The first time, they tricked us and sent us to Neptune to look for Jasper." Navy speaks up, "Did you know it rains diamonds on Neptune?"

Blue Diamond chuckles softly, "No, I can't say that I knew."

Navy lights up like a kid at Christmas. She managed to make Blue Diamond smile. The other Rubies look at her, jealous of her accomplishment. To make the Great Blue Diamond smile after Pink's shattering is nothing shy of a miracle.

"The second time we went to Earth, we ended up on the moon base, trying to contact Yellow Diamond to inform her that Jasper intended on keeping the Crystal Gems prisoner on Earth." Eyeball recounts,  "Something about being difficult to relocate and that the last time she tried to get them off-world they destroyed her Warship. But when we got there, the communicator was missing and the main console was broken."

"If the rebels were there prior," Zircon whispers to Pearl, "It would have been a wise move to relocate the communicator and destroy the central console. It keeps any information largely protected from being found without some particularly skilled Peridots around. And even then, restoration takes time and some data might be completely lost."

Pearl nods in understanding, leaning over to whisper to Zircon, "Yellow did complain about a Peridot using the Diamond Line from Earth, she even said that she called Yellow Diamond a 'clod'."

Zircon hums to herself as she makes a note to update the timeline of events.

"Not long after that did we find out Jasper wasn't even there, she was just an overcooked Amethyst shapeshifting to look like Jasper." Eyeball continues, "The Pearl fused with the permafusion into the Showmaster Scourge and smashed us out the door with a hammer, but I did manage to grab Rose Quartz on the way out. A small chunk of asteroid cracked me, she healed me and brought me inside her bubble, I tried to shatter her, and she left me in the abyss of space."

"Completely reasonable, all things considered." Zircon mutters under her breath. Blue's Pearl snickers slightly at the jab.

Blue Diamond hums in acknowledgement, "Well, you did your best. Rose Quartz and the Crystal Gems have always been a tricky group to handle, and the Showmaster Scourge didn't help your case either."

A silence stretches between the gems, only the sound of the various displays filling the room, but the silence is more comfortable this time.

"My Diamond!" Doc calls from her seat, gracelessly breaking the silence, "We will be arriving at the Zoo shortly!"

"Of course, Ruby."

Blue Diamond's form begins to glow and her gem rotates. Her dress is looser, her hood becoming a cape with her insignia on it flowing behind her. Her size doesn't change, but she looks like a whole new gem.

"For this mission, I request that you refer to me as a Maxixe on a mission directly from Blue Diamond."

"Of course, My Diamond!" Eyeball confirms, "May I be so bold as to ask why?"

"You may." Maxixe nods, "I need to ask something of the Peridots here, but also a recent trial has brought up the potential for some advanced shapeshifting to be at play in a case. Of course, this level of shapeshifting would greatly complicate matters, however I wish to see how effective it is. Maxixe are an old cut of Beryl, but there are still enough in service for this form to not stick out too much."

Blue Zircon's eyes widen as she pulls a screen out and makes a note for later, mumbling under her breath, "That could be why…" She speaks up and addresses the taller and more important Beryl, "My Maxixe, I request permission to access the files in the Rose Quartz bubble room!"

"Permission granted, Zircon." Maxixe allows.

The ship arrives at the Zoo, and a bubble forms around the trio as they move towards their answers. 

Chapter Text

As Pearl Facet-Prime Cabochon-3 leads Blue Zircon to the Rose Quartz bubble room, Maxixe stalks the massive pink halls with purpose, nodding to Holly Blue Agate as she passes by. The Agate nods back, noticing the posture and how she carries herself with purpose and electing not to interrupt. She walks down the branching halls like a gem on a mission, knowing exactly where to go to find what she's looking for.

She reaches the elevator to the Peridot's human research chambers later than she is used to, but she attributes that to her current smaller stature. She steps inside, collecting her thoughts. If anyone asks, Blue Diamond sent her on a personal mission regarding a recent trial, and she wants clarification.

The elevator reaches its destination, and she steps out. Maxixe stands on the same level as the Peridots in charge of the station, and she feels an odd level of kinship with the technicians. Usually, she's looking down on them from far above, but now, looking them in the eye as she stands on an equal level, she doesn't know what to think. It's an unusual feeling, but she doesn't mind it. Emotions always were her forte, but this is something entirely different.

She looks down from the observation chamber at the Zoomans, watching them do as they will. Humans are so varied, she finds. They wander and do as they please, living simple lives in tune. They're messy in ways that gems simply aren't, but that gives them an odd sense of novelty.

"On personal request of Blue Diamond, I would like to know something." Maxixe requests of the nearest Peridot, one with square hair.

"Yes?" The squaridot replies.

"Theoretically, would it be possible for a gem and one of those humans to become one?"

"Like a hybrid of the two species?"

Maxixe nods.

The Peridot spins back to a nearby display and begins darting her fingers across the keypad, running figures based on Gem DNA and Human DNA. After a few minutes of hums and shifting, she gets the two to stick together stably.

"It would only be stable as long as the gem remained connected to the human component, and the gem would have to completely reset itself to be compatible, but it could work. Not sure why any gem would go through with it, it just sounds like a more permanent rejuvenation. The human component would deteriorate without the gem, and even then, there's a bit of a time limit on how long the gem could keep the meat body together."

"I see." Maxixe hums, "Thank you, Peridot. I'm certain Blue Diamond will find these results useful."

"Is Blue Diamond looking into a new type of punishment? Because this sounds terrible, I'd rather be shattered."

"She never told me much, only that a recent trial involved what she thought to be a hybrid of the two species."

"I can't imagine why any self respecting gem would go through with this willingly, most gems would only get a few hundred years before the human component started decaying around them. Eventually, they'd be back to just being a gem."

"I suppose there is a macabre beauty in it. If you're running from your problems and mistakes, it becomes a place to hide. Or perhaps, a gem just wanted change."

"Don't we all."

"Between just the two of us, what would you change?"

"Personally? The resource crisis could be solved by utilizing gardens full of organic plant life, something symbiotic with us and organics. Beyond that, us lower class gems get shafted constantly with the thankless jobs, and if we don't comply, we're either on the other end of Blue Diamond's tears, Yellow Diamond's lightning, or White Diamond's nightmare of a court. Stars forbid White Diamond's court becomes aware of any issues, they're merciless. Like Diamond, like court, I suppose."

"I agree." Maxixe says, "Well, thank you for your time, Peridot. I'd best be off, though, Blue Diamond wishes my findings as quickly as possible. Do not worry about your complaints, those will stay between us."

"Thanks for listening." Peridot replies as she walks out of the room and the door closes.

☆◇☆

A short trip down pink halls, and Maxixe arrives in the Rose Quartz bubble room, only to find Blue Pearl and Blue Zircon making out heavily against a pillar and surrounded by a few bubbled gems being held under the light of a scanner. She clears her throat, causing the Zircon to jump higher than she ever thought a Zircon could. If she didn't know better, she'd say that the Zircon could float. Pearl blushes a vibrant blue as she attempts to fix her dishevelled hair.

"Fraternizing with a Diamond's Pearl, Zircon?" Maxixe teases, "You know that is grounds for some severe punishments."

Zircon blushes a violent violet. She's had fantasies about these situations, but this is just too real.

"What did you need to come in here for, Zircon?" Maxixe asks, leaning against the wall like a common Quartz, "Or did you just want some alone time with Pearl?"

"I-" Zircon stammers a bit before regaining her confidence, "I believe that Pink Diamond made the Rose Quartz cut of gems to disguise herself more easily. Earlier, on the ship, you mentioned that Maxixe are an old cut that are still in use just enough not to turn any heads, but the reverse could also be true. A new cut of gems might catch a few eyes at first, but soon they'll blend into the crowd. She would have just made the Rose Quartz cut  it that long before when the rebel started to make her first moves."

"I see." Maxixe hums, "She had a new cut of gems to blend in with, something no one would have questioned."

"Furthermore, I found this out from some Amethyst guards, but there was an Amethyst still in the ground when your final attack happened, which matches up to the Ruby's story and with an Amethyst Facet-5 Cut-8XG, who would be a deep-cut based on the time she spent in the ground." Zircon adds, "Alongside a count of every Rose Quartz gem produced, how many are here and how many were shattered, there's one more than there should be."

"And that means, Zircon?"

Zircon sighs, "Our rebel Quartz doesn't exist, definitely not in any production logs. Either she never existed to begin with, or she had that data scrubbed, and that is a whole process in and of itself that would have had to go through Pink Diamond personally."

"Which means that Rose Quartz never existed to begin with, unless it was an inside job with far too many moving parts to not have been found by now." Blue Diamond surmises.

"The most likely option, no matter how improbable it sounds, is that Pink Diamond faked her shattering while her Pearl was shapeshifted as Rose Quartz." Blue Zircon sorrowfully confirms with a nod, "I'm sorry, my Diamond."

Maxixe looks around the room at the Rose Quartz gems, a silent, contemplative look in her eyes. All these gems falsely imprisoned for the acts of one of their kind. Such a cruel fate. Freeing them all would be lengthy and require a sort of reparation that she isn't sure she could give at the moment. She decides that soon she'll free them, but for now they will stay in their bubbles, unaware of the world around them.

"Let's return to the ship, Pearl, Zircon. We still have one more stop to make." Maxixe says, looking forward to leaving this place of tainted memories, "Our next stop is Pink Diamond's private garden."

Chapter Text

Yellow Diamond is a logical gem, unaffected by emotions, or so she'll tell you as anger courses through her form and lightning crackles at her fingertips.

The trial was a disaster. After so many centuries of waiting for closure, Rise Quartz was posing as a human, the defending Zircon accused the Diamond Authority of shattering their own, and to make it all worse, Rose and the organic, Lars, she thinks Rose called them, escaped. She knew the moment she saw what Rose turned herself into that the trial was going to fall apart. In a way, she's almost glad White decided it was too unimportant to appear at. That would have been an embarrassment, and could have gotten messy if White decided that the organics were unnecessary.

She would have helped the poor gems in the cleanup, no gem deserves to suffer that alone.

And then Blue decided to return to Pink's zoo. Pink is gone and dead and there is nothing they can do about it but get justice and move on. She's tried everything she knows. Her powers could stabilize a shattered gem's form if she has enough shards, but she tried that with Pink's. It's as if there was never any life in them to begin with. White never commented on the failures, acting like she knew they would happen and she was just letting Yellow get her hopes up.

The golden yellow bubble containing the prosecuting Zircon from the trial floats just in the corner of her vision, almost taunting her with the reminder of how everything fell apart.

Loathe as she is to admit it, but Blue Zircon had a point. Shattering a Diamond takes power and influence, you have to be the right gem with the right alibi to pull something like that off, and every Rose Quartz that Pink had were stationed elsewhere. Rose would have been obvious, sticking out like Yellow would in a field of Peridots. Of course, that ignores the ability to shapeshift.

Yellow bites out a curse. Shapeshifting, how obvious of a solution. White had that feature removed from the Era Two series of gems, making idle remarks about how it was an unnecessary feature for most gems to have in the first place. Yellow disagreed. So long as the shapeshifting wasn't too egregious, she never saw the issue. The same can be said for fusions in her court. So long as it was practical and got the job done, Yellow wasn't one to complain. The Jasper and Lapis Lazuli fusion of Malachite, what a sight they are to behold. She smirks to herself, they get the job done, and Lazuli are hardly the most friendly of gems. So long as they don't develop any distracting feelings for each other, Yellow doesn't have to know or care.

The thought circles back to shapeshifting and the Trial, and Yellow's smirk falls into a scowl. Shapeshifting makes the entire case significantly more headache inducing.

Truth be told, Yellow isn't certain why she bubbled the prosecuting Zircon. Her emotions were high, and she acted on instinct, putting the gem in a bubble and sending her back to her personal bubble room for dealing with later. She pulls the bubble closer as she looks deep into the gem in stasis. She watches as light flows through each facet of the gem, information processing idly as the Zircon realigns her pathways.

A call rings through the Diamond line, snapping her out of her thoughts. Yellow groans to herself as she answers it, the image of an infuriated Emerald that she shares with Blue appearing on the display.

"Some off-colors and an organic stole my precious Sun Incinerator!"

"Then go find them and get your ship back." Yellow responds, unamused. 

Damned bold Emeralds.

Wait.

Organic?

"Describe the organic." Yellow commands, her eyes narrow as she stares into the Emerald's gem.

"They were skinny, built like a shallow-cut Quartz, pink skin, square face, and white hair. They seemed to be the leader of those rotten off-colors."

Square face, skinny, pinkish skin, that sounds like the organic that was with Rose(?) at the trial. So they did escape Homeworld, or at least, one of them did. The white hair is strange, but Blue knows more about humans than she does. With all the time she spends at the Pink's Zoo, she'd be a fool not to know a few things about her favorite non-gem species.

"Find them, capture them, and bring them to me alive and in one piece. That will be all."

Yellow returns to her work as the screen disappears, the matriarch pouring over files and personnel reviews while managing the hunt for the escaped Rose Quartz. The workload never changes, White hardly acknowledges the work and effort, and it barely feels worth it anymore.

After all, she is just another cog in the machine for White Diamond's perfect empire.

Chapter Text

Blue remembers the day they gave Pink the garden.

While she doesn't remember the exact date -she has that somewhere in her files in some long forgotten folder in the depths of her palace- she remembers the events rather clearly. Pink still had her first Pearl at the time, and had just gotten back from that jungle moon that Yellow was overseeing at the time not long prior. She remembers that Pink outwardly admitted that she wanted to go partly because it was a jungle moon, and, to quote the gem directly, “I can't cause you too much trouble if I'm exploring an uninhabited planet away from colony sites, can I?”

Yellow laughed at that notion, but agreed to bring her along to help teach her about some of the finer points of colony management. It was mostly a success in that regard, and Yellow posed the idea of giving her some kind of small Something to care for personally, a taste of some of the responsibilities of being a Diamond, without being a horrible expense of resources. It was White who suggested it being a garden, and it was Blue herself who wound up designing the majority of the structure. An ornate pentagonal

Pink was the one who supplied the plants.

Blue never quite understood her fascination with organics. She could deal with the plants, but never the other organic lifeforms. Far too messy for her tastes. Thankfully she kept the organics in her garden limited to some varieties of insect and a handful of aquatic creatures for the pond she put in.

When she saw how Pink had decorated her garden, she believed she understood at least a little bit of what she saw in it, especially with her explanation. The aqueducts would water the plants, the insects would pollinate and consume the decaying matter, while the larger bugs and the fish would eat the insects and keep the water clean of excessive algae. The plant life was manicured into perfectly geometrical shapes that, when blown by the breeze, would flutter in ways that gave Blue an ability to appreciate organic flora.

Her memories of the garden only ache as it comes into view.

Where once were vibrant greens and pinks, now lay dull browns and faded greys, with only a hint of pink remaining. Blue looks down at her gem for the arrival proper, gathering her emotions and pushing through them for as much as she can.

She's doing this for Pink.

The ship arrives, the hand opening down onto the edge of the ziggurat at the center, and she steps out alone. The other gems know not to follow, not here, not with what this place means to her.

The garden is ruined. Cracks run through every stone, every plant wilting and wild, vines creep through every crevice and corner. An unusual shape catches her eye. It's dull, but definitely a gem (or at least an unusually detailed statue of one), and definitely standing there quietly, looking between her and the warp pad. It takes Blue Diamond a moment to recall the last time she saw her, but when she does, she lightly gasps.

“Spinel? You're still here after all this time?”

“Sure am,” Spinel says, trying to not sound too hopeful, “Did I win the game?”

Blue blinks at her, “What game?”

A tremor shivers up Spinel as her eye twitches, “She wanted me to stand here in the garden, to stand very still until she got back. She didn't tell me much more about how to play, so I've been wondering if I was doing it right, but you're here, and I haven't moved since she left, did I win? Is she happy with me? Why didn't she come herself? Did she finally get the colony she wanted?”

Blue's gem aches at the desperation that creeps into Spinel's words as she speaks, the manic pleading echoes through the empty garden, drowning out the silence with a somehow more oppressive emptiness.

A tear rolls down Blue's cheek. She closes her eyes, takes a moment to steel herself, and speaks.

"Pink is… gone, Spinel." Blue explains as gently as she can, but there's no easy way to say it, either, “She, her gem, it's- it's complicated what happened, and we only just figured out the broadest idea as to why it happened, but Pink is no longer with us.”

Spinel's expression breaks as she shakes, “Wh- what? There's, there's no way. This has to be, no, she can't be-” she cuts herself off with a terrified laugh, “Please tell me this is just a mean joke, my diamond.”

Blue Diamond doesn't know why she does it, and if asked, she'd never quite be able to explain it, but she shrinks back down to the size of the Maxixe she disguised herself as earlier and pulls Spinel in for a hug. Spinel sobs harder as she squeezes back, not questioning the action in any way.

"I'm sorry, Spinel." Blue Diamond whispers to the pink gem.

Spinel sobs, sobs harder than Blue did after the news was first broken to her about the alleged shattering. And isn't that another ache to add to the pile.

The emotions prove to be too much for Spinel, as her form dissipates in a puff of pink light.

Blue Diamond kneels down sits there silently, heart shaped gem resting in her hand and catching the light of distant stars in its facets. Pink didn't even take Spinel with her to her little war. Spinel, who was supposed to be her best friend, always by her side and able to provide joy and amusement at her beckoned call. And Pink intentionally told her to stay in the garden, away from other gems, alone for ages.

“Oh, Pink…”

Had Pink really grown up, grown into a proper Diamond without them noticing? Had Pink left her here because she didn't want the distraction while trying to guide her colony as she saw fit? Her colony, that while was requested by the rest of them to be a standard production colony, Pink had asked for structures to be constructed that would make it more akin to her own personal capital, like Blue and Yellow have in their own corners of space?

Had Pink really, truly been trying to be a Diamond, if a little out of order?

Had Pink been what she wanted all along?

Blue is taken out of her thoughts by the gem in her hand glowing. Spinel's gem floats into the air and rotates upside down -and doesn't that sting- as the mass of lightmatter around her manifests taller, sharper, more angry looking in silhouette. Gone are her innocent looking eyelashes, replaced by three black tear streaks beneath each eye. Her hue shifts to darker tones, while remaining broadly the same, sans the chest color swapping from white to black.

It's appropriate, all things considered. Gems are broadly discouraged from changing their appearance as blatantly as that without prior authorization through a committee of opals first, but an exception can be made in this case.

“...Why?” Spinel asks, barely breaking the silence with a voice hardly above a whisper, “What happened?”

Blue ducks her head in a tired shame as she gently rubs the gem's back, “It was… a number of reasons. We were too hard on her, the Diamonds, that is. We pushed and pushed and pushed her to be proper, and didn't notice as she was suffering in silence the whole time she was on Homeworld. We gave her her first colony, and she seemed so happy at first. And then she wanted to stop colonizing it because of something with the organics, and we tried to force her to continue. As far as we can tell, she started a civil war to try to keep us as far away from her colony as possible. The war ended when she faked her own shattering, then eventually reset her own gem while forming a hybrid with one of the organics she wanted so much to protect.”

“We're trying to fix things, now, but I fear how long it took for this to come to light may make it too late.” Blue Diamond stands up, dusting herself off as she gently clasps Spinel's hand, “Come, Spinel, let's go home. We can figure things out further on Homeworld.”

Spinel nods quietly, unshed tears heavy in her eyes, as she follows.