Reputation

Star Wars

Spinel

If I had thought Garnet didn't like me, then it was safe to say that she hated aquamarine.

Her fists are clenched, and every cold cemented feature of her face was set in anger. I don't know the history that Garnet and this 'Aquamarine' have, but from what I can tell it is not good.

"Well, well, well...look what we have here." She says intimidatingly. For only being about 3 feet tall, her whole demeanor radiates power. "It seems that we have a traitor and a runaway." She says pointing a manicured finger at Garnet and then me.

I don't really know how to react to all of this. I am currently in the throne room, that is usually a place of light and laughter. But now it is dark, I am surrounded by hostile rubies, and am being insulted by a small bossy gem. Yeah...

"Aquamarine, what happened to the diamonds?" Garnet says, tying to understand the situation. There is a small laugh before she responds. "Oh, they also...you know," Aquamarine says with a growing smile, "ran away."

Anger begins to bubble under my skin. "What do you mean they ran away?" I ask, using my words as an outlet to my growing emotions. I step forward, making sure she knows that I'm not necessarily scared of her...just uncertain.

"Well, they weren't able to stop me once I told them I poisoned Earth again." She looks down at her nails casually, tilting your head. "And said I got rid of you." She says causally.

What?

"You didn't force me to go to Earth!" She Shakes her head. "How did you get to the hanger without any complications? How did you get the ship to power on without the keys? How did the communication get cut from the ship? How did the injector just magically turn on?" Aquamarine begins to list as she walks around me and Garnet.

With every indirect confession I feel my heart rate skyrocket. She was right. There should have been no way for me to have made it off Homeworld by myself. I didn't leave on my own accord, I was basically ushered out.

"Why? Why did you want me gone?"

I stumble trying to get my question across. "Oh, that's an easy one. When I was able to get you off the planet, I was given the task to go into the hanger to stop you. But of course it was too late." Aquamarine narrates.

"But it wasn't too late for me to finally take action."

"You see, I have been planning for months, years even, the downfall of this new era."

"We need to bring back order, bring back the glory of the Diamonds."

"But do you know how attached they have gotten to you? A spinel?" She says, sounding annoyed and slightly disgusted. "They were torn apart, and when they couldn't contact the ship, they almost lost it completely!" This time she almost sounds like her mind was blown.

"of course I cut the communication. I had to make sure that my plan stayed a secret."

"You know the plan to both poison Earth and Homeworld."

"Wait What!" Garnet says, sounding surprised. She had been silent throughout this whole confession. "When did that happen?" I ask, growing more and more panicked. "Oh, as of like right now." She says causally, pulling a device out of her pocket. "The Diamonds will only have 10 minutes before the injector is detonated."

"It's your job to find the Diamonds and have them agree to restoring order. Then and only then will I cancel the injection." She points at me, and only me. "You know what will happen if they don't agree." Aquamarine says, almost like she knows what pain I am in.

She presses the button.

"Alright, time is ticking."

I don't know how finding the Diamonds felt more exhausting than anything else I have encountered today. But I continue to dash through the halls, hoping that I find where they are located.

I still can't believe that there are still gems on Homeworld that are opposed to all the change that Steven is trying to bring. Good change. Positive change. I guess I can't reason with people who's are stuck in their previous ways.

How did Steven get through to me?

I assume that Aquamarine benefited from the hierarchy. And having to imagine living without it would have been shattering. It was no wonder why she had begun to corrupt.

I really hope Garnet can convince her to stop.

I lean up against the wall, taking a break to try to take in some air. But with each passing second it takes more breaths to fill my lungs. Spots start to dance in my vision, and I can't deal with that right now.

I need to find the Diamonds.

They need to help the Earth before it completely falls apart, and before Homeworld falls into completely falls to anarchy. But I don't know how much more I can push myself. I shake the blurriness out of my vision and hope that I can hold on a little longer.

I've already passed out once today.

But as soon as I push away myself from the wall, I almost fall forward. It takes most of my energy just to stay upright, how am I supposed to try to find the Diamonds? I still have so many more rooms to check, I can't just blindly run around and hope that I stumble upon their exact location.

I have to think smart. Where would they go if some crazed gem threatened to poison all of their subjects? Or where would they go where they could stay start and stay hidden? An idea claws at the back of my mind, but I wish I could push it back down.

What would the best place to go if they never wanted to be found? How about the same place where I wasn't found for almost 2,000 years? Just thinking about the garden makes me want to black out again, or run in the opposite direction. Or both, I haven't decided yet.

Now standing in the middle of a darkened hallway, feeling as if the floor is sinking below my feet, I am torn between my traumatizing past and a jeopardized future.

Fun.

I try to imagine the possibility of the Diamonds actually being there and my shortened breaths are cut almost in half. My hands feel numb and my throat begins to close in on itself. If only I could stop the rapid, crashing waves of emotion. Or at least stop thinking in general.

I have to get to them.

But I don't know if I can go back.