Fractures

6. Strangers

- Pink Diamond finds hope in a dark place.

---

It was dark here. It was cold, and bleak, and abandoned. It was Homeworld's rotten core, a foundation of crumbling walls and empty echoes. The holes seemed endless; they made her shudder.

It was a good place to hide; she needed to think. It was hard, though, when the very air seemed to suffocate her.

She'd been down here for weeks, and had seen no signs of life. There were only cruel robonoids made to shatter, and the weight of isolation on her shoulders.

She was still struggling to understand what she'd done. She had shattered White, and could have shattered Yellow, too. She didn't want to hurt Blue or Yellow, but she wasn't going to let them stop her from doing what was right.

Before, she had fought for Earth. Now, Earth was gone. Now, she had to fight for gems.

She couldn't fend off her doubt. Could she really change things? Where could she even start?

It was so hard to focus when she just wanted to cram herself into a hole and cry. It was so hard, when she could think only of what would happen if she failed again, of how people wouldn't trust her, they'd be afraid, would they only fight because she said to?

She continued to wander, trying and failing to hold herself together.

---

She heard a noise, a small scuffling footstep. She tensed, turning towards the sound. She didn't see anything, didn't hear anything more.

"...H-Hello?" she called.

There was no answer.

"Is anyone there?"

There was only her own voice echoing back at her.

"Please..."

She hid her face in her hands and sobbed.

---

Ru and Tile pressed their back against the rock they were hiding behind, staying as still as they could. She had almost caught sight of them. Her crying pulled at their hearts, but they remained where they were until she left.

They still didn't know what to think of the strange pink gem. She was tall, and obviously emotionally distressed. Her dress was dirty and torn, and her hair was wild and tangled. When they had first seen her about two weeks ago, she had been covered in half-healed injuries. Not to mention, there were ugly cracks marring her otherwise pretty face. In other words, she seemed like a complete mess.

Tile thought that she might be Pink Diamond. Ru thought that was ridiculous. What would a diamond be doing down here all by herself, just wandering around and crying? But the gemstone in her navel and the odd shape of her pupils seemed to say otherwise.

They hadn't told the others yet. They didn't want to freak them out, and they'd have to move, and, well, they were curious, too. They hadn't been up to the surface lately for news, but they did know that it was very rare to see Pink Diamond out and about. How had she gotten here and what was she up to?

"We could just ask her," Tile suggested.

"Are you nuts?! She'll shatter us on sight!" Ru exclaimed, throwing up her arm in exasperation.

"I don't know..." Tile rubbed her chin. "She seems to be searching for something."

"Yeah, maybe she's lost her mind and now she's looking for gems to shatter."

Tile flicked Ru on the cheek. "She just looks lost to me. She's all alone."

Ru couldn't fault her twin for feeling pity. She was pretty sure it would get them killed one day.