Slipping with every threat,
- “Say Goodbye” by Krewella
One step at a time. Just focus on one step at a time. ‘You’ll be fine. Just get to the ship. You’ll be fine. You’ll be fine—’
“Welcome back, My Diamond. Did the meeting go well?” Pink almost let out a small shriek of surprise as Pearl, ever diligent, stood at attendance, smiling up at her.
Her Pearl, her foundation, her pillar of stability—no, that wasn’t the case. Not anymore.
Pink let out a sigh and slumped into the Diamond-sized chair. “Yes, Pearl… Set a course back to Earth. I need to rest.”
She squirmed a bit in her seat as she thought over the meeting, she couldn’t even get her body to relax, no matter how much she reminded herself it was over and done with.
The Diamonds saw her. Saw what she had become. The silent declaration of resistance has been made. She would no longer allow herself to be pushed around and forced to submit to the other Diamonds’ will.
She was strong now. She was powerful, like they were.
Now, she was their equal.
“Of course, my Diamond. Is... your new form bothering you still?”
Pink shook her head. “No, it’s not that. I just…” She spared a glance at Pearl, noting the slightly worried look on her face. “I’m just tired, that’s all.”
Pearl bowed slightly. “Alright, my Diamond. Our course is set. ...Why don’t you rest in the meantime, my Diamond, then we can get properly settled once back on the Moon Base.”
Pink let out a soft laugh, leaning further back into her chair. “Thank you, Pearl. You’re too kind.” She missed the slight blue blush that appeared on Pearl’s cheeks.
Upon arriving at the Moon Base, Pink felt even worse than before. It was like her limbs were being weighed down by some unseen force, and her gemstone wouldn’t stop sending flashes of heat coursing through her body.
Perhaps everyone had been right. Perhaps she had rushed herself in answering the Diamonds’ summons. She could have asked Pearl to postpone it yet agai—
‘No. Stop. I did what I had to do. And it worked. Or at least it seemed to. The Diamonds saw me. That’s all that mattered. I’ll deal with the aftermath in time.’
“He-ey there... so, how’d it go?”
Pink looked down, seeing the rainbow Gem grinning and waving up at her. She couldn’t resist the laugh that slipped past her lips. “Fine, Bismuth. Is the room ready?”
Bismuth nodded. “Sure is. I fit it with the latest that tech can offer. Although, I’ve never heard of a Diamond-proof room before,” she finished with her hand cupping her chin, and looking thoughtful.
“That’s fine,” Pink replied, waving her hand. “Thank you, Bismuth. Pearl, while I’m resting, why don’t you take some time for yourself for a bit?”
Pearl pausing, turning to look up the larger Diamond, gawking. “B-but, My Diamond, what if you need m—”
Pink cut her off. “I’ll call if I need something, Pearl. But please, go relax for a bit. You deserve it.” She didn’t want to continue troubling her former any more than was absolutely necessary.
Pearl shifted uncomfortably, fidgeting with her hands before making the Diamond salute. “Y-y-yes, of course, My Diamond. Thank you.”
Pink tried not to sigh or wince upon seeing the gesture. Her time as Rose made her absolutely loathe the salute, but—
But, she had to keep reminding herself. She had to focus. Had to secure Earth’s safety and her court’s well being. One step at a time. The biggest hurdle was out of the way. Now, she could begin devising her next steps. She had bought herself time. That’s all that matters right now.
Stepping into the chamber especially made for her, Pink silently noted to praise Bismuth for her spectacular work. She knew requesting Bismuth for this project was a good idea, and she was proven right yet again.
“They’re all too good to me,” she mused to herself as she unceremoniously flopped onto the large cushion set in the middle of the large room. The glassy windows above showed her the wide expanse of space, the Earth, and faraway suns scattered across the black backdrop.
Eyes wandering, she scanned the void of space, gaze slowly drifting before catching a glance of a red planet, a massive crater on its surface.
A rush of heat hit her suddenly, and Pink gasped, clenching her gemstone. Images flooded her visions. Darkness. Heat. Nothing. Pressure. It hurt. It hurt, it hurt, ithurtithurtithurt—
Pink gasped air, breathing deeply in and out, essence dripping down her forehead.
A small crater was left where she had smashed her head into, and she swore under her breath at the damage. She’d hoped the attacks would fade in time, but now she wasn’t so sure.
Maybe… maybe she should heed Pearl’s pleas and rest for longer. Sighing, she rolled back on the cushion and closed her eyes, not daring to see up, to catch the sight of her failure.
No, don’t think about it. Rest. Just… rest.
Pink checked the diagram once more, biting her lower lip. She knew it was pointless checking it again, considering how many times she’d already done that, but so much was riding on this actually working.
“My Diamond, preparations are finished.”
Jerking up in surprise, Pink looked over her shoulder to see Bismuth and Pearl, standing at attention. “Oh,” was all Pink could manage to say before closing the document. “Right. Is everyone ready?”
“Yes, My Diamond,” Pearl replied, forcing eagerness into her voice. Pink surveyed Pearl carefully before striding over to her, kneeling down in front of her Pearl.
Placing hands on Pearl’s slender shoulders, Pink looked Pearl directly in the eyes as she spoke. “Pearl, if something’s bothering you, please, will you tell me?”
Pearl looked away, her expression that of shame. “I-I… with all due respect, My Diamond… i-is this really necessary? I mean…”
‘Oh Pearl’, Pink thought fondly. ‘Even after everything that had happened, Pearl still looks out for me. What did I ever do to deserve such a wonderful friend…’
“Bismuth, would you mind giving us a moment of privacy, please?” Bismuth nodded in understanding, saluting before exiting the Control Room. Pink watched her leave before turning her attention back to Pearl, who was watching the Diamond with confusion.
Sighing softly, Pink resisted the urge to kiss her darling Pearl, anything to ease her worries. She always worried too much.
“My Pearl,” Pink decided to refer to her as that this one time, “please understand. The others won’t listen to me in my current state. I know it’s ridiculous to suggest such a thing but—”
‘I’m defective’, Pink wanted to say, but she held her tongue, deciding against it.
“—But due to my status, with this being my first colony, they won’t listen to me. I need them to see me as an equal. That’s why this is so important.”
Pearl blushed slightly before shaking her head. “I… I know, My Diamond. I know. I’m just—I worry about you. With the rebellion over, you really should—”
“I can’t afford to rest now, Pearl.” Pink was stern in her voice. She had to make Pearl understand. “I know I’m being selfish asking you not to worry, but Pearl, please, please understand. I need to do this.”
Pearl looked doubtful, but, perhaps reluctantly, she nodded. “Alright, My Diamond. Let me escort you to the preparation dock.”
Bismuth made one final adjustment before turning to Pink. “It’s ready to go, but… I know I really have no place is saying this—”
“Bismuth,” Pink interjected, “please, your thoughts are welcome. Be honest with me if you have any concerns.”
Bismuth tensed a bit before speaking, “Uh, well… destroying your physical form, it just feels so… so wrong! Even if you’re telling me it’s okay, you’re a Diamond! Diamonds don’t get poofed!”
Pink laughed slightly, shaking her head. “Diamonds’ forms are made of hardlight, just like any other Gem. We’re just… more resilient, that’s all.”
Bismuth looked confused and doubtful, but she nodded all the same. “If you say so, My Diamond… Just… just give me the signal when you’re ready.”
Pink nodded, getting into place. Bracing herself, she took one final deep breath before hollering, “Do it, Bismuth!”
Her last physical sensation was a sharp pain before darkness consumed. And, before becoming completely lost to the void, she prayed, prayed that when she awoke next… things will be better.
> exec -l 68SZ -d 5K.SU --incb=1R --ifsub="[M;A-6+DE[P>100]];P=1" --iphyssub="D-PD@S-78;P=2"
COMMENCING INJECTION PHASE 1, PLEASE STAND BY.
INJECTING FLUID: MIX OF: ATOMIC-6 AND DIAMOND ESSENCE (100% P).
INJECTION PHASE 1 COMPLETE.
COMMENCING INJECTION PHASE 2.
[WARNING, PHYSICAL INJECTION IN PROGRESS, DO NOT ABORT WITHOUT PROPER SECURITY PROTOCOLS.]
PHYSICAL SUBJECT [D-PD] SUCCESSFULLY INJECTED AT DEPTH 5000 STANDARD UNITS.
INJECTION PHASE 2 COMPLETE.
COMMENCING [1 ROTATION] INCUBATION PHASE, PLEASE STAND BY.
Pink didn’t remember her first emergence. To her knowledge, at first she... wasn’t, and then… she just simply was. She existed. That was how it felt.
This, however, this was different. She still existed. She was still aware.
Although she had no form, no body to experience external stimulus, she knew she was embedded deep into the crust of Mars’ red surface. She knew her gemstone was being compressed, minerals forming around her, feeding into the stone.
But… stars, it hurt. It hurt so much. It felt like she was being crushed by Blue’s aura, or being locked in the wrenched tower again. It wasn’t so much the physical pain as the mental pain, crushing her, oppressing her, keeping her in place.
She just has to deal with this pain until the incubation period ends. She just has to hold on until then.
Think of the tower. Wait for Blue. Blue always comes to let her out eventually. That’s it. She just has to wait.
I can’t handle it anymore!
Pearl paced frantically back and forth, constantly checking the various computer monitors, active diagrams and charts changing as more data was being collected. Bismuth glanced over at her before finally speaking;
“She’s probably fine, Pearl. She said so herself.”
Pearl didn’t halt her pacing as she retorted, “I know that! But this is completely unheard of! A Diamond being injected into a planet’s crust! I don’t think it’s ever been witnessed, the Diamonds are timeless!”
Bismuth shrugged. “I heard they emerged like any other gem, but you know how rumors go.”
Pearl’s pacing quickened. “Oh, ooooh oh dear. What was I thinking, agreeing to this? She asked me several times if I had any issue with this plan—I have many issues! But she’s a Diamond; I have no place in rejecting her desires. Oooooh, my gem must be faulty…”
Bismuth sighed, shaking her head. “Ya know, Pearl, you can stand to take a break every once and awhile. Pink Diamond’s not going anywhere, and we got a team monitoring her constantly.”
Pearl finally stopped, frantically pulling her hair. “I AM HER PEARL! I HAVE TO BE BY HER SIDE AT ALL TIMES!”
Bismuth flinched slightly. Delicately, she reached a hand out, touching Pearl’s head gently. “Hey, hey, easy there. We just got to wait for a bit; everything’s gonna be fine, Pearl. Just you wait and see—”
“ATTENTION, ALL PERSONNEL! ATTENTION, ALL PERSONNEL! EMERGENCE IS OCCURING. I REPEAT, EMERGENCE IS OCCURING.”
“Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?!” Pearl shrieked, gripping Bismuth’s shoulders and shaking them. “That’s too early! We’re too early! Pink Diamond said it would take at least an entire rotation before she would emerge!”
Bismuth narrowed her eyes, glancing at the screen. “Something’s happening…” she murmured, more to herself than to Pearl. Pearl yelped as Bismuth removed Pearl’s hands and rushed over to the computer.
“Crack it,” Bismuth murmured. “One of those upper crust morons must’ve made a miscalculation.” Slamming the microphone button, she hollered into the speaker, “I WANT EVERY GEM TO GET THEIR FRACKING BUTTS INTO THE CONTROL ROOM THIS INSTANT. PREPARE RETRIEVAL. GET GEMS ON THIS RIGHT NOW!”
“Oh dear, oh no, oh dear,” Pearl squawked, pacing back and forth even more than before. “Something went wrong; I knew this was a bad idea. Oh, My Diamond, please be okay. I failed, oh stars, I failed in my duties!”
“Pearl, calm down!” Bismuth barked. “Pull yourself together! We got to see what’s going on!”
“R-right! Of course!” With that, the two dashed towards the control room.
Too much. It was too much.
In an instant, Pink was flooded with senses. Voices, surrounding her, drowning each other out. Sensation, stars, everything ached! Vision… vision clearing slowly.
Pink stumbled forward, reaching for something to grab. Feeling something, she gripped it, steading herself. Vision still distorted, she blinked rapidly, willing herself to see, see anything—
Her court. Her court surrounding her, all looking at her with concern in their faces.
“What—” Pink cleared her throat. “What happened? Someone tell me what happened.”
Cautiously, a group of Peridots approached her, all shifting uncomfortably. Suddenly, one was pushed forward, stumbling up to the Diamond. Fidgeting with her hands, the Peridot murmured something that Pink couldn’t hear.
Straightening up, Pink took a step forward. “What? I couldn’t hear you, can you—”
“The p-process…. failed, My Diamond!” The peridot finished, jumping into a salute while shaking and making herself small out of shame.
Every single Gem in the room stiffened, standing at attention, waiting. A few had tears stream down their cheeks, others sweating profusely. All silent. All waiting.
Pink stared blankly, trying to grasp what was just told to her
Didn’t work? It… it should have—
They were so careful in their calculations. What…
Stiffly, she looked up, up at the red planet she had been using.
A massive crater in its surface that wasn’t there before. But… that didn’t make sense.
“Why?” Pink couldn’t stop shaking. “Why didn’t it work?”
“M-m-m-m-my Diamond,” the Peridot from before squeaked. “W-we are r-r-r-r-running our-our assess-m-m-ment on wh-why the pro-pro-process f-f-f-failed, your Radiance…”
Pink looked down at her shaking hands. Nothing.
Still the same silly, little defective Diamond as before.
Her gemstone began to burn, and her arms stiffly went down to her sides. “Don’t follow me,” was all she snapped as she marched robotically to the warp pad. In a flash, she was elsewhere, not on the Moon Base anymore, but on Earth.
Inside the Beta Kindergarten.
She couldn’t hold it back anymore. Screaming, howling in rage, her fist slammed into the weak wall, crumbling instantly. Fury flooded her vision, distorting it, shading everything crimson.
Instant static overwhelmed her hearing, and yet still she swung wildly, fists and kicks flying. Anything inanimate, she struck. She broke. She destroyed.
Foolish, foolish, FOOLISH!
How dare she even fancy a chance that she could change?!
She was still the same; she would always be the same.
Defective. Lackluster. Insignificant.
Why even try? She shouldn’t have just gone through with her original plan. She should have just stayed as Rose—
At least as Rose she never felt like a failure. She was something, she meant something to others.
She couldn’t forget the looks on everyone’s faces as they had to deliver the news to her.
They feared her. She was frightening.
It was all for nothing. All the pain she caused. Worthless.
She didn’t know how much time had passed, nor did she care. She felt numb, was numb, to everything around her. She hardly noticed the tears flowing down her face, nor the slight breeze that passed her.
It wasn’t until she felt a hand on her face that she finally registered something. Her friends.
Bismuth and Pearl glanced at each other with concern before looking back at their Diamond. Hesitantly, Bismuth leaned forward a bit, sheepishly smiling. “Hey… how are you feeling?”
Pink would have laughed, had she felt anything out than misery. “Terrible,” she admitted honestly. “Why didn’t it work, Bismuth? Did I do something wrong?”
Bismuth held up her hands, shaking her head rapidly. “Wha-what? Nonono, there was a miscalculation—the planet, Mars, it wasn’t hot enough to—”
“What?” A spark, of hope, of another chance, of something worthwhile. “Not hot enough? Bismuth, what do you—”
“My Diamond, if I may?” Pearl pulled a diagram from her gemstone. “The research team analyzed the pressure underneath the crust and found it to be severely lacking for a gemstone like yours. We would need significantly greater pressure to—”
Pink admittedly zoned out in Pearl’s explanation. ‘So there had been something in the calculations that went wrong. What did Bismuth say? Not hot..? Did that mean that Mars was not hot enough to make the process work?’
Blinking, Pink interrupted Pearl. “Wait, what about Mars wasn’t hot enough?”
Pearl paused in her explanation. “Oh… the research team stated it didn’t possess enough internal heat—”
Pink stood suddenly. “I need to speak to the research team. Gather them up immediately!”
“Y-Yes, My Diamond!” Pearl saluted.
Hope… Pink dared to allow a spark of hope in her gem. There may be a chance yet…
“—and that is why, aside from your untimely emergence, the process failed, My Diamond.” The head peridot finished, saluting with confidence while her fellow gems were shivering and muttering along themselves behind her.
Nodding along, Pink skimmed through the notes. “I see. So the… planet core, it didn't contain enough heat, right?”
The head Peridot nodded solemnly. “Yes. Unfortunately, we would need a considerably higher level of temperature to start to apply thermal stress—”
The head Peridot blinked, “My Diamond?”
“The heat, right? Mars lacks the necessary heat to make this work.” Pink leaned forward slightly, forcing her anxiety down. “So what do we do about that? If Mars isn’t hot enough, can we terraform it so it does or—”
One Peridot murmured something, and quickly the small group began to discuss things quietly amongst themselves.
The lead Peridot nodded, before turning her attention back to the Diamond. “My team believes there’s nothing we can do to the current planet in the required timeframe to make a difference, however—”
“However…?” Pink repeated, feeling herself slide to the edge of her seat.
The lead Peridot shuffled slightly. “…H-However, if we were to use another, more suitable planet, we could—”
“Will suggesting Sol-2 and 3 make due?” another Peridot murmured to her colleague. Her colleague jabbed her elbow into her shoulder, shushing her. But Pink overheard, and her eyes widened quickly.
“Sol-2? Did you mean Venus?”
The lead Peridot grinned nervously. “Uh, y-y-yes, My Diamond. While we were—uh, analyzing Mars, we tried to compare it to other planets. Outside of the outer gas planets, the suitable planets with the proper level of heat and pressure is the Earth and Venus—"
“Venus will do.” Pink blurted out the answer, completely disregarding the first option. Looking up through the glass dome of the Control Room, Pink stared out, searching. Behind Earth, there.
A rusty-colored world, her last hope. She just needed to be inserted into the planet’s crust and then—
I̛̳͎T͜ ̺͍͖̠͚͉͜HU͔ͅR̤̖͙T̙S
Pink gasped, clutching her gemstone. She would have to go through that… that terrible process all over again. And with the added heat, there was no telling how bad it would be—
But… but, she had to remind herself.
She had to do this. For Earth. She had to.
She must do this. No matter how much it hurt.
Being poofed was never an issue. That part of the plan was honestly the easiest part, if Pink had to admit. It was the next part that she resented.
But this was the only way.
Formless. No senses. That was a Gem’s existence without a body of light. Yet Pink was also vaguely aware of her surroundings to a mild degree. Well, not really her surroundings but, whether she was above the crust or below…
Heat. It was everywhere. Stars, it burned, much worse than on Mars. Frack—what had she gotten herself into—
No, no don’t think like that. Focus on -b̸̛̳̌͌͊̚̕ũ̸̧͖̲̬̹͔̰͖̖̖̆̄̈́͝ṙ̸̨̛̠̬͌̇̌̔̊ṉ̷̡͈̩̩͈͓͌̍̾͒̚̕ş̴͓̣̙͎̰̝̖̍̃̓͠-something else. It’ll be over eventually.
Imagin-ʇɥƃᴉl-e the tower. Imagine waiting for -sɹɐW-Blue. Imagine—
When Pink fi-ɹǝʍoʇ-rst created Rose, she had merely copied the image projected to her by Pearl. A simple copy and paste.
When Pink had resolved t-Blue-o become Rose, to frighten Gems off -ℜ𝔬𝔰𝔢-of Earth, she had imagined the Gem, her a-ʎpoq-ppearance, the-pǝʌlosǝɹ- way she would appear. Pink had created the dres-ʇsnɹɔ-s from her own gem, with her own thoughts.
Her current form would be pointless to assume-ǝsoɹ- after this. She needed a new shape.
Hands. Rose-colored gloves. Change that to… a darker color. Don’t cover her hands. Maybe loop a piece around her middle finger.
Feet. Pink slippers with pom-poms. Get rid of those. Stockings… not covering the front of her feet. She wanted to feel the grass between her toes. Silly. The idea amused her. She wanted to wiggle her toes at the idea.
HURTS IT HURTS ITHURTSITHURTSITH̵͖͙͗̋̒̈̿͌̂̽͒U̶̧̡͔̙̣̺͖̮̦̪̩̦̅̔̊̏R̶̖̦͇͓̙̫̱͑̾̄͋͂̾̿̑̈́̽̔̓̍Ṱ̸̡̡̼̩̱̜̯̲̽͛̚͝Ș̷̛̬̯͙͖̗̮͇̻̤͈̐͒͒̿̃̉̇͛͝I̵̧̧̢̨͎̰̥̯̺̘̠̙͆͋̈́̏͒̈́̈́̒̂̾͘͝͝T̴̖̳̙̜̈́̒̔̈́Ḩ̴̠̮͎̥̲̜͉̮̞̀͒̆U̷̢̲͔͎͈̯̪͈͐̐̐ͅR̷̡̜̮͚̖͎͇͈̟̹̅T̵̨̛͓̹̻̩̜͔͖̘̺͍̻̟͚̍͛̓̔̅͛̐̈́͘͝Ŝ̵͉͉͇̈́
Her mental image distorted, melting. No. No! Keep it steady! Keep it together! Imagine—
Imagine her room. Imagine her pebbles. Imagine their giggles at her appearance!
That top with the puffy sleeves… Childish. Her shoulders will be bare. Chest. Pink wanted to giggle at the thought. Stars knows she’s going to add those to her new form.
Puffy shorts and short skirt. Change that to… a long-ssǝɹp- skirt, flowing. Tights underneath.
P͡AI̶N P̶A̛I͘NP̛A̶I̷NPA҉IN̡ E̕V̴ERYT̵H̵IN͝GHURTS͝ ̧S̵TO͘PN͜E̸ED̡ŢO͜FORM ̕CA̷N̷TFO̴R͜M̵ MUS͞T͟FOR҉M
FOCUS! Imagine something else! She’s almost there!
The garden… No, not the garden. Not the ballroom. Not Yellow’s or Blue’s—
Imagine her on the Earth. Imagine the wind running through her hair. Short hair—no, not short hair. Longer, graceful hair that fluttered gently in the breeze, like a ribbon.
Her Pearl’s ribbon. Pearl’s ███. Her █████.
H͠E̛RP̡E͢A̢RL̷THA҉TS̬͎̲̪̘̗͢H̭̪͖͓̺̯E̝͘B҉͕͓̝̩͙̭͝ͅR͍̤̦O̸̰̟̻̱̘̝̳͓̬K̸̢̠͙̳̠̬E̶̙̙̲̖̝̥͟
F̷̨̨̛̛͉̣͚̮̬̪͕̯̓̿̂̽͆̈́͗͋̌̕ͅF͔̟͉͖̜R̗̺͍͚A̜̼̼̟C͍̣͔K̞̙̳̘̹͎F҉̜R̦A҉͍͔͔̖̙C͕̩̣͎͞K̶̯C̞͖͓̗̰̘R̠̙̥̘̱̪A̯͔̮̮̰͇̠C̨̰̝͓̭̹K͔̮̝̺̰̠I̵̞̙̦͖N̻̫̦̘̱G̱̳̗̪͇H̹̙̳̩͜Ư͎̫̥R͍̞͚T̖S͈̜̺̪̪͇Ț̕O̮͚̟̝O̴̘̫̘M̗͔͈̦̻U͈̦̕C̩̮̤H̟̬̮̪͡Ṱ͖͚̲͇ͅO̧͎̤̻̥̰̺͇O͚̫̠ͅͅM̜̩̲̮ͅU̞͈̣̙͎CH̤̖̠̳̹
why are you like this—ƃuᴉʍolɟɹǝʌo—why don’t you like it—ɥɔnɯ ooʇ—why don’t you like it—PINK!
Bismuth gaped, watching the planet’s surface shift and slowly peel open. “Frack,” she called out. “Everyone, get ready! Pink Diamond’s emerging, to your stations!”
The clatter of Gems having their gemstones encased in specialized armor—to help handle Venus’ atmosphere—all scrambling to welcome their Diamond. The ground rippled, cracking and groaning before tearing itself apart. The fissure grew larger and wider, light erupting from within.
Bismuth found herself paralyzed, watching in stunned silence as a form began to emerge, a large form… twice the size of her Diamond. Was that—did it work?
“Bismuth, Bismuth!” Pearl grabbed the Gem’s shoulders and shook them. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?!”
“Yeah, I sure am…” Bismuth rubbed her eyes, knowing for certain that nothing was disrupting her vision, and yet...
And yet she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
Pink Diamond was emerging.
Surface. She needed to—had to—get to the surface.
Pink never remembered her first emergence. She just wasn’t, and then she was. But, this moment, she wondered if it was a repeat of her first arrival.
Pushing herself out of the crust, she unceremoniously crawled out the depths of Venus’s crust, fingers clawing desperately, pulling, pushing.
Heaving herself up, she eased herself up, onto her hands and knees, gasping, panting. Thick curls framed her face, obscuring everything in her peripheral vision.
It hurts. Everything hurts. Stars, why did it hurt so much?
A shaky hand touched her gemstone, feeling each ridge carefully. It was practically throbbing, burning, in her hand but—
Everything felt normal. No cracks. No chips. But did that mean… did that mean it worked?
She tried to get up. Suddenly overcome with a wave of—disruption—she fell down, slamming her shoulder into the dirt with a loud boom. She sucked in through her teeth, trying not to yelp in pain. Everything hurt, her throat hurt, her legs hurt, her arms hurt—
“—mond! My Diamond, please!”
Was… was that Pearl? Her vision was fading, unfocused.
“Get the—ship—inside! Quick!”
