Chapter Text
When Spinel, Stevonnie, Lapis and Lion materialised on the Island Warp, the one thing besides the scenery or the associated sensations that stuck out was the mailbox standing not far away. It was bright and vibrant, and contrasted with the natural environment around it.
“Is that, new?” Stevonnie asked as Spinel approached it with curiosity while simultaneously inspecting the new environment.
“I think so… But who would even send us mail?”
“Who cares? Let see what’s inside!” Seeing the raised red flag had stirred something in Stevonnie that they’d almost long forgotten, causing them to smile just a bit more as they opened it up to reveal a singular letter, sealed with a maroon kiss…
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Dearest Stevonnie and Lapis,
By now, news of the discovery will have reached me.
Safe to say, I had not expected myself foreseeing such a possibility, which though marvellous and surprising (even to me), I know is also of great weight. Rest assured, I have told everyone here on New Earth not to worry about the self-destruction of the ‘new’ warp.
I know it may take a while, but we’ll be expecting you all here at New Earth afterwards. Sleep first, if you will, we won’t be going anywhere overnight.
Love, Garnet
PS: I hope you like the new mailbox; I thought it’d be a good gift for your ‘anniversary’.
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Reading the letter as they sat in the barn, the couple couldn’t help but smile. It was silly since she could’ve just sent a voice message or called them, but there was also something special about putting your thoughts onto paper, into words, written with love and care – love and care that they can’t wait to share with and give Spinel.
“It’s from a close friend, isn’t it?” Spinel asked as she sat between Stevonnie and Lapis, Lion resting just behind the three.
“Yeah… but they’re also more than that; they’re family.”
“Sounds like a lovely thing to have… family…”
“It is…” They leaned closer to Spinel, taking in breathes together in preparation.
“I’m ready,” Spinel said, giving a gentle smile.
“Before we start, there’re a few things we need you to know… One, this will be heavy and is anything but happy. But you deserve to know and understand… because that’s the right thing… Besides, there’s just no sweetening this; it has to be said… secrets and the truth can’t be suppressed forever, especially when someone’s been waiting for so long…”
“Well, I’m here with you, aren’t I? I and we will get through this together.”
“Exactly… Two, at points, you may have questions – some or most may be answered later…”
“I’ll try my best to listen then.”
“And finally, three… We may refer to the Pink Diamond you knew as Mom, my – Stevonnie’s – Mom, your diamond, or Rose, since you know…”
“Got it,” Spinel gently tapped Stevonnie’s Pink Diamond gem.
Since Spinel was one of the few gems that knew practically nothing, they had to start at the beginning – even Leggy knew about Rose to an extent, fusion, and their humanness.
Although this was mainly for Spinel (and Lion, if he didn’t already know some of it – he certainly knew enough and didn’t really let much on…), neither could deny it would do some good ‘recapping’ it for themselves after everything…
“6050 years, right?”
“Six thousand fifty years, one month, six days and six and two-thirds hours to be exact…”
‘She sure keeps time well, that’s for sure… it matches up with the warp records…’ Stevonnie thought to themself.
“So, this is everything we know…”
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Mid-Chapter Note: Stevonnie knows stuff about their mom they had learned (in show canon) from Diamond Days because White Diamond told them during one of the times she trapped them (in Marooned Together canon).
(You better be ready for the Angst and Hurt below that is the load of the whole thing – even if it’s ‘just’ a ‘recap’…)
Perhaps if circumstances were different, they could afford to take things a lot slower… but this isn’t… telling Spinel might to the only way to keep her safe, together with them, and hopefully, truely happy… Because if being Marooned Together means she has to ‘grow up’ quickly, then they knew she’d rather do it with them…
Spinel won’t be tricked ever again, especially not with Stevonnie and Lapis helping her out…
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“Before ‘Pink Diamond’ ‘got’ her first colony, the Earth, ‘her’ ‘current’ Pearl, – and possibly even when you and mom had played in the garden –, she lived on Homeworld with the other diamonds and – ‘her’ – another Pearl… She was pink just like her diamond; gem on the naval, bright, colourful, energetic… She and mom used to play together in their room – mom’s room on Homeworld in the palace –, entertaining the other, making the other happy…”
“Like we had done in the garden, but… more…”
“Yeah… back then, neither cared much for the ‘rules’ and ‘expectations’ as set out by the other diamonds… In the room, they were almost equals… both played for the other almost just as much…”
“But the diamonds didn’t like that, did they?” Spinel said with a slight frown.
“No, they didn’t… Often, they would get into trouble for their games. Of course, the other diamonds blamed Pink Pearl for her ‘bad influence’, but never mom… As well as that, mom’s fascination with life, organic or otherwise, you know… plants, animals, creatures, beings…”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“That also got mom into trouble a lot, because she’d bring them ‘home’ from wherever she’d visited and… just kinda maybe let them loose or sometimes ‘forget’ about them… The other diamonds… didn’t seem to value life, seeing those creatures and beings as nothing more than her pests…”
“Yeah…” Spinel giggled slightly, “I do see that happening… so they punished her?”
“By locking her in a ‘prison’ tower, starved of contact, most light save for a sliver from a tiny window, again, and again… hoping she’d ‘learn’…”
“That’s terrible… no wonder she was so sad on Homeworld, if that’s how… and when we…”
Stevonnie and Lapis soothingly rubbed Spinel’s back, “She just wanted to be seen as an equal… for them to see as equals… Mom wanted everyone to be comfortable as themselves around her, not just listen and ‘behave’ because of her ‘status’… Pink Pearl was almost that, but alas… in the eyes of the diamonds…”
“It was ‘improper’…”
“One day, the inevitable happened; they look the Pearl away, and replaced her with a more ‘proper’ one – the one you and I know… White… she possessed, took over – ‘bleached’ – Pink Pearl using her powers, controlling her every move, projecting herself, and speaking through her… A puppet, drone, slave… with no will, everything ‘surrendered’ to the ‘flawlessness’ that ‘is’ White… and to this day… she is still under control, oblivious to everything that had happened… her left eye broken…”
Tears formed in Spinel’s eyes, thinking of others White could’ve and had…
“I…”
“Words alone can’t describe how horrible that is… but that is only the ‘beginning’…”
“Gee… so when she got her colony… that must’ve been on her mind…”
“I bet… and…”
“She knew I loved playing with her just like she had… and couldn’t… She didn’t want the same to happen to me…” Spinel said dejectedly, her hair flopping down, “Looking at me, just imagining… It terrified her… She was forced to leave me behind – there didn’t seem to be a choice –, knew the diamonds wouldn’t ‘approve’ of bringing me with her, and feared I’d make things ‘worse’… So she…”
“Lied to you, thinking it’ll be better this way… that you wouldn’t understand…” Lapis said as she comforted Stevonnie and Spinel – it cut deep for both of them, “Perhaps she thought she could come back for you when things were better, and you wouldn’t have to know, but…”
“That, of course… never happened…” Stevonnie continued, rubbing tears out of their and Spinel’s eyes, “Too many things just happened or would happen… mom found running the colony to be incredibly boring – it was basically just a lot of waiting and sitting –; just watching from the moon wasn’t enough, she wanted to meet the new gems in person when they emerged. But she knew the other diamonds would be quick to ‘spoil’ the fun if they found out…”
“So when Pearl imagined – suggested – to mom that she could change her shape for a day to visit the kindergarten… she immediately jumped at the chance. Shifting her gem from her diamond position…” Stevonnie made a crude outline with their hands on their gem and illustrated it, “… to where its base faced outwards, thus shrinking her height as she became bulkier… and took on the appearance of a common Quartz soldier… best she could pretend to be, anyway…”
“Ooh…” Spinel brightened slightly, “Playing pretend; we used to play that game! Is that why your gem is like that now Stevonnie? I know I said I’d listen… but I know how important gems’ gemstones are to their being…”
“It’s okay to ask…” Stevonnie turned to smile at Spinel, “And yes, that’s why my gem almost looks like a Rose Quartz’s…” They sighed slightly… “It’s a long story… but it’ll be explained later… But I’m not exactly a gem myself; this gem’s been this way since before I came into being – I can’t really shift it like my mom did…”
“So that’s why you feel different – good different that I think like… it suits you, your gem… it looks better like this,” Spinel smiled as Stevonnie did the same and gave her a soft kiss.
“Thanks…”
“Anyway… when Rose Quartz warped down into the kindergarten, she was overjoyed at being able to interact with the emerging Amethysts. Even with Pearl by her side, they didn’t see her as anything other than a Quartz… Mom almost wanted to join them, but Pearl stopped her before things could get too far…”
“After that, Pearl suggested exploring more of the Earth to cheer Stevonnie’s mom up. Beyond the kindergarten, she found a planet brimming with life – plants, animals, insects… – life that was the result of billions of years of evolution and adaptation, untouched and free… Pearl loved seeing and making her happy, and Rose seemed to feel the same about Pearl… Some exploring later, they happened upon the most curious of creatures – beings – that looked like gems, but were made of flesh and bone – organic…”
“It was then that they realised, the planet was full of life… The beings… humans, had communities, a primitive society, and clearly held great intelligence…”
“Sounds like they’d be fun to meet!”
“Exactly, and when they walked back to the kindergarten to warp back to the moon, another realisation came to them… Around the kindergarten, life was being drained right out of the ground… Instead of creating life from nothing like she had thought – been told –, mom’s colonisation was taking life and leaving nothing (living) behind…”
Spinel thought about this as Stevonnie paused for her. Her Diamond was certainly fascinated with life in general, as well as anything she found new, exciting, or interesting. She wasn’t exactly sure what the other diamonds had taught her about the colonisation process, but she could already guess… Her abuse on Homeworld was one thing, but having the fate of a whole world rest in your hands was another…
She loved everything so dearly, that’s why she was known as the loving diamond… For her to find out… must’ve been pure agony… Wanting to not be seen as a ‘failure’, but also knowing that her actions…
“So what did she do about it?” Spinel wanted to know, needed to know… – whatever Rose’s choice was, she knew it must’ve been hard…
“Rose didn’t want her ‘work’ to come at the cost of a planet’s inhabitants, uniqueness, wonders, and ecosystem… Earth was always changing, unlike Homeworld or other colonies, and she wanted to keep it that way, safe from the diamonds and safe from herself… She wanted Earth to flourish, not perish and wither away…”
“I wish I could’ve seen it… but this isn’t Earth, is it…? Even if it may be just as beautiful”
“No… it’s close and beautiful… but also so far… it’s not even in the same galaxy…”
Spinel, for her credit, actually seemed to understand more than she had initially let on. Perhaps time will do that to someone… or perhaps she had felt it in their voices…
“So mom asked the other diamonds to stop the colonisation – it may be her colony, but she was far from being in charge… And guess what? They didn’t listen… they just brushed her off…” undertones of anger and frustration could be heard in their tone, but there was also a hint of… sadness and disappointment… “Instead, they built a Human Zoo for her, to ‘preserve’ human ‘specimens’ in captivity, like… like ANIMALS that they can just… breed… – no offense, Lion, you’re great – like they didn’t matter… like they didn’t have feelings and thoughts of their own… They had missed the point… it wasn’t just the humans… it was everything about the Earth…”
“Gosh… that’s…”
“Yeah… the zoo’s pretty bad… I – or at least, a part of me – had been there before as a human about 55 years ago and it wasn’t nice at all… None of them knew that they were floating in space, and they certainly didn’t know anything about the Earth; all they knew was the zoo… what a little voice tells them to do, and the occasional story about the habitat that they lived in, passed down from generation to generation… They didn’t know hurt or sadness, just… fake happiness… and had no free will…”
“The best part of their existence – being free, wild, changing, and evolving taken away from them… The last thing she thought she needed was more ‘trouble’… me…” Spinel sighed.
“She kept pleading to the diamonds, but of course, they never did listen… One day, she had had enough… she would take matters into her own hands… by making a stand as someone they couldn’t ignore – as Rose Quartz…”
“Pearl of course, wanted to be there for her, and fight with her… together… they thought they could scare every gem off the planet…”
“Not that it would’ve worked…” Lapis couldn’t help but add, “Even if the diamonds did relent, there was no stopping them just squatting on the place… no… for Earth to be left alone… there had to be more.”
“Rose had her shield… the same one that I now have…” Stevonnie summoned their shield to show Spinel. She inspected it for a moment, partly amazed at its sturdiness and lightness, before she set it aside and indicated for them to continue – she’d have plenty of time later…
“And Pearl had her swords – swords she learnt to use and fight with… The Terrifying Renegade Pearl, that’s what they called her… eventually, their antics had gotten the attention of the other diamonds… about 5805 years ago, Blue Diamond had planned a meeting with mom to ‘discuss’ things ‘diplomatically’… In her entourage, there was a Sapphire and her three Ruby guards.”
“The Sapphire had foreseen an attack on the cloud arena where Blue was ‘stationed’, the dissipation of seven gems’ forms, which included two of her Ruby guards and herself, the capture of the rebels immediately after the destruction of her own form, and thus, the end of the rebellion… Sapphire already knew and had accepted her fate…”
“When it was down to the last Ruby and Sapphire, however, the former refused to accept Sapphire’s prediction,” Stevonnie said with fire in their voice, “She could not let that happen, even if Sapphire had seen differently. Before Pearl could destroy Sapphire’s form, Ruby leapt towards Sapphire and changed fate! Instead, as they spun away, their forms glowed and they fused into someone new! Pearl and Rose then took the opportunity to make a quick getaway!”
“Blue Diamond was furious! She blamed the Ruby for this change, and told her that she would be shattered. With her life already turned ‘upside-down’, Sapphire did the only logical thing – grab Ruby and flee!”
“Oh, what happens next?” Spinel bounced in her spot (just as Steven had done on his birthday so many years ago…), gloom temporarily displaced by excitement.
Chuckling slightly, the pair continued the story. It isn’t the happiest, but there were certainly more than enough happy moments to get one through…
“They stumbled around for a bit, but eventually ended up crossing paths with mom and Pearl again. Instead of being disgusted like everyone had been on the cloud arena, they were delighted to see her again. Seeing her wonder and curiosity, they realised that they weren’t just fighting for the Earth, there were also countless other gems displeased with the way of the other diamonds –gems like the new fusion, Garnet, a Bismuth that was sick of building Towers for Tyrants, and so many more… It may have started as harmless fun, but there was now so much more at stake… She wanted Earth to be a place where gems could be free to be whoever they wanted to be – where she needn’t be a ‘Diamond’, but Rose… –, all forms of life cherished, guarded, protected, and let develop without fear of destruction and oppression…”
“Wow… that sounds very noble of her… she grew and changed because of Earth more than she ever had before…” Spinel said proudly.
“Yeah, mom did… she just… didn’t really notice it herself…” Stevonnie did a stretch as Lapis and Spinel did the same, “Ahh… that’s better…”
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“Together, the Crystal Gems – that’s what Rose’s group was called – sought to ‘end’ the tranny and liberate all gems. Their numbers grew, and eventually, it escalated into an all-out war that would last for 1000 years… It… wasn’t pleasant by many means, and many have suffered or been changed as a result of that…”
“I can imagine… having to fight ‘yourself’ on top of anyone sent by the other diamonds… it’d be messy…” Spinel winced, shaking her head before she could imagine it… (Perhaps it was best she hadn’t seen it…)
“That’s one way to put it…” Lapis laughed dryly, “I know… because I’ve seen it… A few centuries after the declaration by the Crystal Gems, I just happened to be visiting Earth… I was only meant to be there for a short time, but… I ended up caught in the middle of the war. As the fighting raged on around me, I was terrified… it was awful… I tried to run, flee, fly away, but someone attacked me from behind and poofed me. Before I could reform, I was picked up by a Homeworld solder and mistaken for a Crystal Gem… They put my gem in a mirror and interrogated me… asked me questions about the Crystal Gems…, which I couldn’t answer… I used be Blue Diamond’s but that was the moment everything changed… To them, I was disposable; it didn’t matter if I could’ve been ‘loyal’… they’d rather not take the chance and didn’t care about losing a Lapis… That said… I think it’s still a blessing in disguise…”
“I probably wouldn’t have ever met you if that hadn’t happened,” Stevonnie leaned over to kiss Lapis on the lips as Spinel watched on, eyes wide and smitten.
“I don’t think I’d be happier otherwise anyways… You’ve given me so much to live for, Stevonnie… I love you!”
“Love you too, Lapis!” They shared a few more intense kisses before pulling away to resume the story.
“Because of that, Lapis has seen and suffered a lot more than most gems… Watching the war, powerlessly stuck in a prison, unable to escape… Anyway… as the years passed and casualties mounted on both sides with no ‘victory’ in sight, mom knew she couldn’t keep it up forever – didn’t want to the war to go on any longer… Again, she pleaded to the other diamonds, but they just kept saying the same things to her…” Stevonnie sighed slightly, holding their gem with one hand, “That’s when she decided to fake her shattering, hoping it will end it all and stop the diamonds from bothering the Earth ever again. She thought that they didn’t care… and with the help of Pearl, she did the ‘deed’, ‘ending’ herself and reformed to be Rose all the time. Her last order as a diamond was for Pearl to never speak of it again…”
“But the diamonds cared… they were furious, angry… and only made them lash out more… After the shattering, they no longer saw the Earth as a viable colony… They experimented with the shards of everyone that’s been shattered… forcing them to ‘fuse’ together into things… Eventually, they combined – ‘fused’ – millions of shards into something known as the cluster and implanted it into the Earth’s crust to incubate… and rip apart the Earth as it emerged… And finally… they launched one last attack on the Earth…”
“Many didn’t even have time to evacuate… They thought their attack would wipe out all gems on Earth – Crystal Gem, Homeworld, or whatever… They would ‘wipe’ it all clean, away…”
Spinel shivered at the thought, she knew the other diamonds weren’t the nicest… but to do something so… horrid… shook her to the core. However, she also knew there was more to come…
“In the chaos of evacuation, I was dropped on the Galaxy Warp, still in the mirror, and my gem cracked as it was trampled…”
“Meanwhile, mom could only protect Garnet, Pearl, and herself as she used her shield to block their attack… Light – almost song like – poured from the sky, drowning everything in a sea of burning intensity… Later, they would discover that the light had not destroyed all gems… Instead, it corrupted them, twisting them into beast-like creatures that were unable to remember anything before…”
Tears flowed Spinel’s eyes, “That’s terrible… they must hurt so much…”
“Rose tried to heal them, but the power of a single diamond wasn’t enough to undo the damage by three… Instead, they roamed the Earth for thousands of years after the war, seeking out corrupted gems, poofing them and putting them into bubbles where they didn’t have to suffer… hoping that one day, they might find a cure… The only other gem to survive was an Amethyst that emerged 500 years too late in the Prime Kindergarten… Most of the rest of the Earth quartzes were moved to the Zoo after the war by Blue Diamond… – well, those that made it and were still ‘loyal’, of course…”
“I thought I was doomed to be stuck forever, but one day… Pearl had found me in the mirror, and stored it in her gem. Besides that… we don’t know much about anything that happened between the end of the war and well… For almost 4500 years, it was just Amethyst, Garnet, Pearl, and Rose… Living in a temple by the sea…”
“Until one day, Mom was wondering the beach where they lived, and found a lone man performing on stage without an audience…”
“His name was Greg Universe and his song and music had captivated her. It was new, exciting, and his themes about space… was probably more than a little amusing to her… In turn, when he opened his eyes to find her clapping him on, he was in love… You have to understand, mom was much taller than most woman he had met before, so he was also fascinated…”
“Gems resemble human woman, and humans need both man and woman to reproduce – make new humans,” Lapis whispered in Spinel’s ear to clue her in so Stevonnie wouldn’t have to explain it.
“Oh…”
“Dad – Greg – made mom his everything in life and gave up his pursuit of music to be with her… As they spent more time together, they only became closer and deeper in love… He didn’t ask her questions, and together, they were happy… She was free, and he had someone out of the world…” Stevonnie smiled slightly, choosing to remember the happy parts, “Eventually, mom wanted a child with dad… She wanted her child to have the gem, which meant she would have to give up her foam and ability to exist… Her final gift and sacrifice for the world she had ‘wronged’ – not that that was what she had intended; she just wanted them to be free… And about 65-70 years ago… Steven Quartz Universe was born, marking the end of Rose and the start of something – someone – new…”
“You alright there, Spinel?” Lapis asked, gently squeezing her.
“Yeah…” She rubbed a few tears from her eyes, “I’m… fine…”
Rose’s decision to have a child wasn’t totally unexpected for Spinel; after everything, she supposed there were still things left… new things… and maybe, part of her diamond was tired of it all… For every ‘negative’ reason, Spinel could think of a positive counter – her desire to create a bridge between humanity and gems, probably, or at least be part of something – someone – who could change and be better…
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“Steven loved exploring Beach City as he grew up. One day, he met a girl, Connie Maheswaran. Connie was shy and didn’t have any friends before she met Steven. As soon as they met, they had developed feelings for the other… feelings that they didn’t quite know at the time… She loved the ‘magical’ stuff as much as everything else about him did… and he saw something… special in her… They just… complimented the other so much and made each other so happy…” Stevonnie was blushing slightly.
Lapis and Spinel giggled slightly, the former giving them a playful nudge as she took over, “Later, when Steven wanted to learn more about gem culture, Pearl give him the mirror. Of course, I didn’t want to show anything… but when he said, ‘I must be incredibly important to gem culture,’ I couldn’t help but feel something that I hadn’t in a long time… hope, and trust… and I guess he was kinda right… I watched him talk to others and saw how nice he was… When I did show something, he immediately started talking more to me, making jokes and having fun – treating me as a person… – as I did the same – the best I could… When he told the gems about this, I was scared… they wanted to take back the mirror… but Steven wouldn’t let them take me away, so he ran… He freed my gem and later healed it with his powers… I thanked him and starting flying back to Homeworld…”
“He trusted you, even when he barely knew a thing… trusted his instincts like I did with you… It’s sweet…”
“Yeah, it is… but that also reminded the gems about Homeworld… they clearly weren’t done with Earth yet… We had already destroyed a red eye and would soon make contact again… But before that happened, Steven was trying to learn fusion from the Crystal Gems… which didn’t work… he just couldn’t ‘keep up’ – or rather, they hadn’t discovered harmony yet… Dejected, he met up with Connie on the beach to talk about it… and asked her to dance with him… alone, they let go of all their worries and danced as themselves, smiling, giggling, and enjoying each other… Then, Steven almost fell over, but Connie caught him and brought him closer… Neither paying enough attention to notice a pink glow…”
“And they fused into you, Stevonnie!” Spinel exclaimed, beaming, “I get it now! Steven, Connie, STEVONNIE!”
“YEP!” Grinning, they and Lapis ruffled her hair, “That’s me! Amethyst actually came up with it and it just… clicked!”
“But not long after that…” Spinel prodded, half-knowing what to expect.
“Homeworld sent a Peridot to Earth to check on the cluster’s progress…”
“Oh no…” Spinel gasped, “What happened?”
“She bailed upon seeing signs of ‘us’ and stuff happened… she got backup…”
“When I arrived back on Homeworld… everything was so different… I could barely understand any of it… Instead of a warm welcome, I just got more questions… I was taken prisoner, interrogated by that same Peridot, forced to reveal things… It didn’t matter that I had been and could still be loyal… All that mattered to them was that I was of some use regarding the Crystal Gems… I said as little as I could, and Peridot and Jasper dragged me back to Earth with them…”
“Jasper had been Pink-mom’s… Made in the Beta Kindergarten… one of the strongest ever made, despite mom picking the worst possible location for it back during the war… and when I-Steven used his shield to protect the gems from their attacks, all she saw was Rose Quartz… They thought Steven was Rose and by extension… Homeworld still sees me as Rose, not myself… But we eventually befriended Peridot – an Era 2 that had needed limb enhancers due to resource shortages resulting in a lack of powers (mostly) – and worked together to deal with the cluster…”
“What about Lapis and Jasper?”
“That was… a bad time Spinel… but Jasper’s good now… and I’m much better…” Lapis said, hoping to avoid telling the pink gem about Malachite (it was fine with Stevonnie, but… she didn’t need to know… – the stuff about herself in the war was enough to get the picture…)
“Okay!”
“Steven and Peridot drilled down to the Cluster,” Stevonnie could sense Lapis’s thoughts, and continued to move them along, “Nothing they did could hurt it, but when Steven talked to it… He found out that they just wanted companionship – which they found in themselves – and didn’t want to destroy the Earth… So he, with the help of the Cluster itself, bubbled the whole thing… After that… some more things happened… we thought things were fine for maybe a year or so…”
“Then they came back?”
“Yeah…” Stevonnie sighed, “Thinking the Cluster was set to emerge, they sent an Aquamarine and a Topaz fusion to ‘collect’ more humans for the zoo. They escaped, of course… but Steven ended up being captured when she found out about his gem, thinking it was Rose Quartz… In the ‘panic’, however, one of Steven’s friends – Lars – had frozen up and hid instead of escaping as Aquamarine took off towards Homeworld…”
“They put Steven on trial for his mother’s crimes – Rose’s crimes against ‘her diamond’, neither crimes that were his nor were crimes in the first place… – and Lars was used as evidence of the ‘vileness’ of humans… They even gave him a Zircon lawyer!” Lapis giggled slightly, partly due to her own reaction at the time, and partly because of what she did…
“She was actually pretty great… and didn’t let preconceptions cloud her thoughts as she did her job – even if it didn’t make sense or hopeful… She actually ended up suggesting the possibility of a cover-up and ‘accused’ the diamonds of being someone who could’ve caused it… Well, she wasn’t entirely wrong… Of course, they were furious, and in the chaos as they bickered, Steven escaped with Lars in Blue Diamond’s palanquin! Crashed out through the wall and onto the surface of Homeworld…”
“They ran around for a bit, found some ‘Off-Color’ gems that helped them escape and later fight off Shattering Robonoids with… One of them blew up and hurt Lars so bad he… died – stopped living… Steven cried over his lifeless body, and his tears… brought him back to life and turned him pink…”
Spinel turned to face Lion with new understanding, and hugged him close, knowing her diamond must’ve felt very dearly for the feline to bring him back…
“Just like Lion…” Stevonnie and Lapis joined the hug as the former reached into his mane for the first time in 50 years.
The night before the attack, they had stashed a few spare things into Lion for safekeeping. At the time, they thought nothing of it, but now they were glad they followed their instincts. After a few moments, Stevonnie felt what they were looking for and pulled it out, tears immediately forming in their eyes…
Spinel’s eyes were glistening in both wonder and emotion. This object was clearly dear to them, and finding it after…
“This is us,” Stevonnie cracked a smile as Lapis redirected their tears, showing a photo of Steven, Connie, and Lars standing in front of the Sun Incinerator, “When Lars made it back to Earth, we couldn’t wait to take more photos with him… He stole that ship from an Emerald, and boy was she persistent!” Next, they turned to a photo of a younger Stevonnie in the photo album.
Besides being less muscular and several inches shorter, there weren’t many differences. Still, it was clear to a softly smiling Spinel that they had grown…
They looked at a few (several) more photos before Stevonnie put it away again for safekeeping. They could and would reminisce later, after they took care of Spinel…
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“When Steven told me about the Trial… I panicked… and fled… eventually crashing onto this planet… For years… I thought of so many things… about what had happened… wondering… I told myself it was better not to know, it was better this way… I couldn’t get hurt if… I didn’t feel as though they were close… But they were… and sometimes… I would just cry, hoping I did anything else…”
“It’s okay, Lapis,” Stevonnie kissed them tenderly and comfortingly rubbed their back, “I thought about you too… Whether or not you were safe… When Steven went inside Pearl’s pearl and saw the truth… you were one of the first he thought of along with Jasper… Mom really messed up… and because of that… Then, things were fine a few years and… I guess I wanted something to change…”
“Eventually, ‘luck’ had run out – Blue and Yellow Diamond had ‘returned’ to attack...”
“We had been dating for a few years by then, and Steven was about to propose; ask Connie to marry him… when it happened…”
“Is being married something Humans do to show their love?” Spinel couldn’t help but ask.
“It is… it tells everyone that… you love each other and want to be together no matter what…”
“So when they attacked, you fused because you didn’t want to lose each other, wanted to hold… be close and not ever let go…”
“Mmm-hmm…” Stevonnie nodded as Spinel hugged them, “And I’ve been fused ever since… after… we fought the diamonds… got captured… and I escaped…”
“Crash landed on this Island, I saved them… and they saved me… Together, we… blossomed… we survived, thrived…”
“We thought everyone was gone… and we were the only ones… We cried – a lot… The diamonds, they broke the Cluster’s bubble… and forced it to rip apart the Earth… even when it didn’t want to… and took it with them, regardless… For about 20 years… this was all we had… we explored the planet, discovered some minor secrets and abandoned gem structures…”
“At that point, you’ve spent as much time on this Island with Lapis as you had on Earth… Marooned Together, you made a new home and life… comforted each other as you found happiness, joy, and love once more…”
“Yeah… and despite all that, we hadn’t even kissed… because we didn’t know… the other… I guess we were dorks who needed a push…” Lapis said, blushing in shame.
“One day, we were just minding our own business and playing a board game when a ship appeared in the sky…”
“We were scared for a moment, but it turned out to be just Amethyst and Peridot… We caught up, and found out about New Earth – how despite it all, some had survived and ‘rebuilt’… It was more of a space station, but it was something…”
“Over the next 10 years, we found more gems, Sapphire and Ruby – Garnet –, Bismuth and Leggy – a cute lil Homeworld Ruby that just wanted to not be miserable –, as well as more of our friends… But the diamonds…”
“They didn’t give up…” Spinel said dejectedly, shredding a few tears, “Even when…”
“No they didn’t… they still wanted ‘Rose Quartz’ to pay… Yellow and Blue Diamond still saw me as Rose and not myself… They didn’t seem to know what mom had done… and neither did their pearls or anyone else…”
“Still, when we saw Blue and Yellow Pearl… we knew we couldn’t leave them alone… They had been ordered to do something about ‘Rose’ – knew they couldn’t just ignore us –, but they froze up… they watched us as their forces were defeated by us… If we didn’t… they would’ve likely been shattered or worse… It’s what Pearl would’ve wanted and done…”
“And now they are happier than ever… Finding out must’ve been a bit of a shock… but I bet they might’ve seen this coming…”
“Yeah… when my Zircon mentioned the whereabouts of your diamond’s Pearl… they looked shaken… I guess no one else paid enough attention to notice… They just kept quiet about the whole thing…”
“But there’s more… isn’t there? A sick twist in this ‘game’…” Spinel said half-heartedly, having gotten the idea from their tone and not wanting it to be true… but given everything…
Stevonnie and Lapis gently squeezed Spinel’s sides to both prepare and comfort her. Long before she had been found, a part of her would’ve likely already knew… She just didn’t want to believe it… and they couldn’t blame her for that… it was one of the only ways she could’ve kept herself together all this time…
“Unfortunately…” they sighed, “For the past several decades, White Diamond had repeatedly made herself known… Directed messages at us, made traps for us, sent attacks… and all the while…”
“She kept calling me Starlight, Pink, and everything she would’ve called mom once upon a time… Only she seems to ‘know’, when everyone else… She tried so hard to invalidate my identity as both a fusion… and hybrid… She thought me dating Lapis was… despicable and unbecoming for a diamond… threatened to take it all away again… But we would never let that demoralise us… If anything, Lapis is the best partner a diamond could have!”
“Aww… thanks honey…” Lapis blushed briefly.
“Then, 10 or so years ago… she set her grandest trap yet… In one of her old temples – ‘monuments’ –, she revealed the greatest secret… mom wasn’t the first diamond to rebel…”
“WHAT?!” Spinel exclaimed, “Then that means…”
“Blue and Yellow did it too… and turns out… mom wasn’t Pearl’s first… White Diamond told me, Blue and Yellow’s first colonies had been much like Earth – teeming with outstanding natural beauty, life, and a pre-industrial civilisation that held much potential for growth… It was ‘meant’ to be a ‘test’ of ‘loyalty’ for them, and Pearl had been theirs, suggesting, tempting… Pearl was meant to be reset – had been reset after Blue and Yellow… Mom was ‘meant’ to ‘fail’… But I knew, what Pearl felt with mom was real… it wasn’t just programming… No gem is just their programming… It’s so much more than that…”
Stevonnie inhaled and continued as tears fell from their eyes, “I don’t want to lose everyone and everything… but even if White does nothing for a while… Everyone else that I knew from Earth, had known and were born on Earth – apart from Lion and Lars because they’re pink –… they…”
“Will all be gone…” Spinel was also crying, emotions ‘finally’ hitting with full force, “And you’ll be the only one left…” crying turned into wailing, “I know… this isn’t Earth… but-but… and we aren’t… we and you… together…, can, did, and will… make this home… and a life together again… we’ll be okay…” she wrapped her arms tightly around the three.
“It’s hard… knowing everyone… but I had thought that when I first crashed here… not that it would’ve changed if the diamonds never attacked… but it’s just…”
“Heartbreaking, missing out on so much, only to…” Lapis was gripping them both tightly as she cried tears of her own, “We may not feel at home on New Earth… things just… and here we… but they’re still our friends…”
“I-I understand now… I understand everything… how-how… White abused her and the other diamonds… how I… then... and… you lost everyone you knew and loved… THIS IS SO UNFAIR! Your mom and dads… your family and friends… taken away… gone… And just when… White…” If they weren’t sitting on the edge of the barn, their tears would’ve likely soaked everything, “It’s terrible and feels terrible because it is… and-and… the worse part…”
“Blue and Yellow Diamond knew…” Lapis said, trudging through the emotional pain (she may’ve been hardened by trauma, but when it came to those close to her, it would never hurt any less – she just learned how to power through it…), “Their own experiences would’ve enlightened them to the whole situation with Stevonnie’s mom… but…”
“They either ignored it or pretended they never DID THE SAME! They WEREN’T STRONG ENOUGH! And because of that… THEY HURT EVERYONE AND WE ALL LOST SO MUCH! It isn’t ‘imperfection’, IT IS WHAT MAKES IT ALL WORTH IT! WHAT BRINGS HAPPINESS, JOY, AND LOVE!!!” Spinel practically screamed, causing Stevonnie and Lapis to wince. Neither told her about White’s ‘history’, but it seems she had garnered enough from context and millennia of intro/extrospection…
As her fists clenched, the pair observed, pulled slightly aside… Even Lion was at full attention, his eyes wider than anyone had ever seen them… To say Spinel was upset would be an understatement, it wasn’t just any one person to blame… it was everything about the authority… how everything culminated in such tragic and gut-wrenching circumstances… how it all makes so much sense and is so, so horrible…
With tears still dripping from her eyes, her form began to glow a brilliant and intense pink… before it exploded in a cloud of neon pink smoke. As the smoke cleared, the gem stayed put, not dropping one bit… As quickly as Spinel’s form disappeared, light poured out of her gem and started forming into a humanoid shape…
There was a pause at her original form, still glowing bright pink – heart shaped pigtails/buns, rounded clothing, and ‘cheery’ posture –, before it started to shift… The round cute hearts ‘exploded’ and transformed into ‘spikes’, her outfit slowly lost its cute playful roundness and gained sharper harsher features, and most strikingly, her heart-shaped gem started to turn upside down as her posture changed.
The light faded to reveal a few last surprises; her once black eyes now had pink irises, prominent eyelashes ‘exchanged’ for expressive eyebrows, her torso now dark magenta instead of white, and three black lines now trailed from her eyes where none had been before.
As she ‘sat’ back down, she reached towards her gems and felt it… how different it and everything now felt… Energy began to sparkle around her hands, and without realising it, Spinel subconsciously pulled, as if she was meant to do something with the energy… She had stored items in her gem before; similar to a Pearl, but this felt… different… like it wasn’t quite material… something that only existed…
Once she felt she had pulled enough, the energy solidified into something tangible in her hands as she looked down to inspect it. It was as long as – perhaps longer than – she was normally tall, was pink just like her, and had a wicked curved blade glowed with pink energy… It was disturbingly similar to the rejuvenator – scythe – they had destroyed, but minus the amnesia-inducting effects.
Fists still clenched, Spinel did the first thing that came to mind; she pulled back and threw it, hard… The sound it made as it sliced through the air was unmistakable, and the few trees that stood in its path were no match – they were cut clean (Stevonnie could fix that later…) –; it only stopped as it became embedded in the sand.
“You summoned your own weapon!” Stevonnie and Lapis exclaimed, cheer still tinted by other emotions.
“I did… She would be… You…” With her ‘anger’ ‘vented’, there was only more emotions and crying.
Together, they lay, crying as they all hugged and let it all out…
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Day had turned into afternoon, afternoon into evening, and evening into night as they relished the comfort of each other and being together. Spinel had never slept before, but after all that… it didn’t surprise anyone when she fell fast asleep, snuggled between Stevonnie and Lapis on their mattress as Lion ‘kept guard’ above them (‘napped’).
Even when she dreamed of bad things, having her arms around the two (Stevonnie also helped inside) allowed her to make it through and recharge. Sleep was nice…
The next morning, they all awoke feeling more refreshed and energetic than ever. Despite the revelations and the thinking she did, Spinel was still jumping with energy, ready for a new, better day with her new best friends and family…
“I’ve been thinking…” Spinel said as they sat on the ‘porch’ after having breakfast, “About things, and…”
“Mmm…?” Stevonnie and Lapis smiled encouragingly.
“I-I want to help…” She said with resolve as their smiles widened, “… fight for everything we stand for and love… and make the diamonds know the hurt they’ve caused… because they must hurt too… Hurt from knowing, hurt from having to hide… supressing… Nobody deserves to feel bad – especially White Diamond… I know they weren’t and aren’t good friends or family, but I still want to help them become better… Everyone deserves to be happy – find their true happiness, joy, and love… – … and hopefully, we can help the diamonds and everyone find – or rediscover – love in their hearts… then… nobody has to be in pain or suffer…”
Immediately, Stevonnie and Lapis enveloped her in a hug as she did the same, her hands winding around and around, “Spinel… we wouldn’t think of doing anything else… it’s what a Crystal Gem would do.”
“You really mean it?”
“Of course we do… While they have done horrible things… at the end of the day, we’d rather have more family and friends than less… even if it’ll take time and work… Some may call them ‘enemies’…”
“But that just means they’re friends we haven’t made and helped yet!”
“And honestly,” Lapis sighed contently, “We’re here because of it all… there’s no leaving them out of it… not forever… No one should have to suffer just because of their past… whichever ‘side’ they were on… I of all gems know it better than most…”
“I’m so proud of you all!” Stevonnie was crying tears, happy, joyfully tears.
Rose may’ve left Spinel, but they had found and helped her, and gained an invaluable friend/family member in the process. No matter what, they will make it through; because if there’s one thing this mess has taught them… it is that the power of love and will are the strongest ones of all!
Right now, though… they could afford to take things slower, bond even more, and take a moment to just enjoy being. Spinel had never felt like this ever before, but she knew, this is exactly what she wanted… By their side, she felt safe, loved, and important… and more than anything, she also wanted everyone to truly experience it.
“You know, I’ve met a few Lapises before… but never so close, loving, comforting, kind… and friendly…”
Lapis smiled even harder as she ruffled Spinel’s hair, the compliment melting her heart even more, “Of course I am…”
Once, they had been lost, marooned, but today, right here, right now, they couldn’t feel more found… together…
“We won’t ever leave you like she did, because that isn’t what friends or family do.” It didn’t need to be said, but it was perhaps for the benefit of themselves and the universe…
“I know… but pinky promise?”
“Pinky Promise,” Stevonnie and Lapis shook Spinel’s comically oversized pinkies. It was endearing, how she retained so much (most, if not all) of her jolly demeanour, except now, it’d be well balanced with everything else…
“You’re so much like her…” Spinel said, nuzzled between the two but facing Stevonnie, “… but also, so, so much better – especially when it comes to hugs! You’re just so ‘soft’ and great to hug!”
“Aww… thanks…”
“I love you Stevonnie and Lapis Lazuli…” She kissed them both loudly.
“We love you too Spinel…” They said, kissing her back with equal vigour.
“This is just the best!” She exclaimed joyously, throwing her hands into the air as Stevonnie and Lapis giggled.
“It is…”
They could’ve stayed there all day if they wanted to, but there was also so much to do!
“We can explore the Island later… but first… it’s time for you to meet our friends on New Earth!” Stevonnie and Lapis beamed, their imagination already running wild with fluff.
“I’d love that…” Spinel wound her arms around theirs like vines and held their hands, tight and secure, but not strangling or painful… Their returned squeezes didn’t feel forced at all, and every moment with them, Spinel found her happiness soaring ever higher…
Sure, Spinel’s antics might be a bit silly, but they couldn’t be more thankful for it… It just brightened everything so, so, so much even more! Together, they were a family, and together, they would shine brighter with love, happiness, and joy than ever before…