Fresh From Homeworld

You Could Know This Love

     Chrysoberyl's eyes went wide with shock when she saw who her captor was. It couldn't be! Not her dainty pearl who followed every command without question. Not her submissive servant who hardly ever spoke. But here she was, different as ever. Just as different as her spinel and sapphire. Those gems were not the loyal friends she once knew. Homeworld had done something to them. They had changed. And it was awful.
     "Surprised to see me?" Red Pearl asked in her eerily melodic voice.
Chrysoberyl grunted against the makeshift gag Red Pearl had substituted in place of her hand. "Hmm... I think I'll let you talk. But you can't scream. If you do, I'll shatter you."
Chrysoberyl nodded in agreement and Red Pearl removed the gag. "Pearl!" she exclaimed.
"Keep your voice down," Red Pearl hissed.
"What happened to you all? You never used to be like this," Chrysoberyl said sadly.
"Re-skilling happened. And trust me, it was the best thing to ever happen to me. Before, I was just a lowly pearl tripping over my feet to do your petty bidding. But when you left, the Diamonds questioned our loyalty. So they sent us to re-skilling. There, I learned everything about Homeworld! I learned how to fight, just for this mission to earth. After all that, my loyalty is unquestionable! Amazing how much they can change a gem in just a few days, right? They constantly fed us information of what we can and cannot do. For hours straight they would repeat the same phrases to us, every rule that is accepted, learned, and obeyed in Homeworld. I learned that I'm just a pearl, I submit to every other kind of gem. But that's okay! Because that's how our system works, and it's perfect. So I guess you were wrong. Nothing's really worth the universe, is it? Especially not me." Pearl still had an eerie smile on her face as she explained.
     "That's torture," said Chrysoberyl. "You left your old selves behind there. They broke you into terrible gems. How can you believe the information they fed to you? I feel so sorry for you. I never meant for this to happen. I just- I just want my old friends back!" Chrysoberyl choked out.
Red Pearl began to laugh maniacally. "Listen, sweetheart, they're not coming back- we're here now. New and improved!"
"What are you going to do to me?"
"Exactly what Yellow Diamond instructed me to do: I'm going to shatter you."
"My friends here won't let that happen."
"Friends? Please! Spinel was right. The Crystal Gems aren't here to make friends with you. Why, you supposedly were against them just the other week! What makes you think they would help you?"
"Because they aren't like you."
Red Pearl's face went blank. "What?"
     "They wouldn't just accept what you have accepted! That pearl? She fought to be free! That sapphire and ruby didn't accept who they were made to be. They became a whole new person and fought for for the place where she could be free and be her own self! And the amethyst? She fights for this earth she was made in, she fights to protect this planet, no matter how defective she is! And the little boy, bless his heart, he has so much love to give! He fights to please his team, I can tell, but he also fights because he loves everything and everyone that he is protecting! Have you ever felt that, Pearl? Has anyone ever loved you?"
     "Love...? What is love?" The expression on Red Pearl's face was so clueless that Chrysoberyl began to cry.
     "You- you really don't know?" her voice broke.
"What other foolishness have you learned on this planet?" Red Pearl scowled.
"Listen to me," Chrysoberyl said seriously, her eyes locked with Red Pearl's. "Meeting these gems is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. They have shown me love. So has the other gem I've met. They accept me not because I'm a chrysoberyl, but because they love me for who I am on the inside. They get nothing out of loving me, but they still choose to do so. Back on Homeworld, I thought that Spinel, Sapphire, and I loved each other as well. But I've found that that isn't true. Not after what they've done to me. But here... it's remarkable. I could show you, Pearl. You could know this love, too. You don't have to be worthless, you should be worth everything! Don't you see that?"
"No. I am worth nothing! Homeworld has already shown me everything I need to live by. I would say that I'm sorry, but that would be a lie. I'm afraid (but not really) that this is where it ends, Chrysoberyl. Do you have any last words?" Red Pearl smirked.
     After taking a quick, unnoticed glance at something behind Red Pearl, Chrysoberyl said with a relieved, but melancholy voice, "I think I should be asking you the same thing."
     Pearl's grip on Chrysoberyl's wrists loosened as an expression of confusion wiped her face. "What?"
     "I was wrong. In my heart, I know that you've changed for good. Who you used to be is gone. I'm sorry. I hope that someday you'll understand why I've chosen to defy her... Yellow Diamond..."
     "I never will. You know that," Red Pearl responded. Chrysoberyl sighed in defeat. She gave one final glance to whatever was behind Pearl. "What are you looking at?"
     Chrysoberyl said in a small, sad voice, "Now, Merlinite."