Shattered III- Home World (A Steven Universe Fanfic)

Old Names, Old Faces

CONNIE SHIELDED her eyes from the desert sand as winds swept by her and Pearl as they made their way toward the inner city of Region Pink. She took a closer look as the dust settled and she felt her heart sink as she saw a massive spiky Black Tower lying at the center of the town up ahead.

"The Black Tower? I thought we destroyed that thing back in Beach City." She said.

"There must've been multiple of them." Pearl frowned. "Pink Diamond must have been the one who designed them, it makes sense now." She walked on. "Let's keep moving."

Connie grew apprehensive as she and Pearl entered the city, wondering if she'd be noticed as they moved on when she saw most of the gems in the city were missing limbs, misshapen or horribly disfigured.

"What happened to them?" Connie asked.

"I don't know." Pearl said. "They might be retired soldiers or something."

"But don't gems all have the ability to regenerate?"

Pearl too became puzzled at this, deciding to continue on toward the Black Tower at the center of the town, all the careful not to draw attention to themselves and sticking to moving among the crowds. Whether it was morbid curiosity or hatred that drove her to look for Pink Diamond, she wanted to see her old master one last time before it was all over, before she could finally kill her by her own hand.

The further they went into the city, the more confused Connie became as she took in the damaged and old buildings and shops that lined the tar road riddled with holes. She wondered why a Diamond would call such a torn down place their home, finding little difference between the city and the Slave Village aside from size. Reaching the center of the city, the two came at the foot of the Black Tower and began to feel tense as they sensed Pink Diamond's immense energy smother them from afar.

Pearl steeled herself and moved toward the edifice with Connie who glanced at the gems guarding the entrance, wondering how they'd make it through. She tried to think when Pearl suddenly buckled up and collapsed on the ground! "Pearl?" Connie raised her brow.

Rushing to her side, Connie turned the pale woman over and froze in shock as she saw that her pupils had completely disappeared and her forehead gem had turned white! "Pearl? Pearl!" She shook her, getting no response.

Connie tried not to panic and began to heal her when she heard the gem guards mutter to each other and run toward her. With no time to escape, the girl drew out her sword and resolved to fight them to protect Pearl, trying to think of a way to beat them without getting overwhelmed. She clashed with a gem guard and cut him down, quickly spinning around to deflect a laser shot with her sword when she saw Pearl's body slowly being levitated off the ground!

"Pearl!" Connie cried out.

"My, my, aren't we noisy." A female voice chuckled, drawing Connie's attention to the Black Tower behind her.

Walking toward her was a tall woman who commanded the attention of the guards as she drew closer to them, causing them to withdraw their attack. They all bowed to her and the leader among them stepped forward to address the woman, immediately making Connie realize who she was.

"Lord Diamond, you need not come here; we'll have these intruders dealt with swiftly." The guard said.

"Hmm ..." Pink Diamond raised her brow and looked at Connie, becoming confused. "I thought I sensed Rose here – I must've been in the lab too long." She chuckled and began to take her leave when she finally recognized Pearl, her face lighting up with excitement. "Pearl, you finally returned to me after all this time."

"Let go of her!" Connie demanded.

"You don't seem damaged." Pink Diamond drew Pearl closer to her. "You seem stronger than before, much stronger." She smiled and reached out to the Gem. "This is perfect."