Chapter Text
Ever since the accident, Rose Quartz had thrust himself into his work. He rarely went home, too busy working on cases for the IPC. It was so bad he even asked his co-workers if he could take their work for them. “I want it done right.” was the excuse he’d give them if they asked. Most of the time, no one complained about him taking work off their shoulders. He growled as he broke another pen in his grip. Sometimes, he forgot how strong his prosthetics could be.
His phone constantly buzzed with text messages and calls from Aventurine, Veritas, and the children that had been dubbed the “ducklings”, but he rarely answered. It hurt too much to answer. He knew. Deep down, he knew what Veritas had done, but he didn’t have the heart to confront him about it. Not yet. He needed to choose his wording and actions before he tried to reason with Veritas.
Veritas Ratio was a stubborn man, but Rose Quartz could be even more stubborn if given the chance. Running a hand through his dyed pink hair (he could see his white roots growing back in), Rose Quartz winced as some strands caught on his joints. He sighed heavily, signing another document.
“Knock knock,” Topaz grinned, walking into his office. “Jade gave me orders to tell you to take a break, no buts and no arguments.” She picked up the large stack of files and dropped them by Numby who warped them away to her desk.
“I was working on those, Jelena!” Rose Quartz huffed, narrowing his eyes in irritation. “You don’t see me going around and stealing files. I have the decency to ask first.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I can’t go home yet. I…want to finish my quota.” ‘I don’t want to go home and see them.’
“Ep! Jade specifically said no buts or arguments, Shilou,” Topaz tutted. “Go home, or I’ll get Sugilite and anyone else on site to drag you out kicking and screaming.” Shilou frowned at the mention of Sugilite. “So, go home,” Topaz smiled innocently.
“Fine,” Shilou gritted his teeth and stood up. “But I’m coming back first thing in the morning.” Topaz huffed. “And I want those files back!” he shouted as she left the office with Numby. Sighing heavily, Shilou reluctantly went home. He didn’t go to his apartment. No, he went to the house where Veritas and the…others were.
The house was quiet and tense. Even though he was allergic, he bent down to pet the three cake cats meowing at him, pawing his legs for attention. It wasn’t fair for them, either. Shilou took a deep breath. It was still quiet. Veritas must have been in the lab he kept everyone out of. Though, Shilou had a guess what Veritas did down there.
“Shilou! You’re back!” Shilou grunted as Avana barreled into him for a hug. He still wasn’t used to physical affection. He awkwardly hugged her back. It didn’t feel the same. She wasn’t wearing her wrist or ankle braces. He guessed she didn’t need to anymore. Not with a body that could just be repaired.
“Yeah,” he whispered. “I’m back.” He gently pushed Avana off of him. “Where is everyone?”
“Chase is upstairs. Rivera’s in the garden, and Jasper’s in the living room,” Avana listed with her fingers. “Oh! And the Doctor is working in his lab. I think he needed Aventurine’s help.” Shilou tensed, biting back a sigh. So, Aventurine found the truth again and Veritas had to ‘fix’ him.
“I see,” Shilou murmured. “I’ll talk with him when he’s finished.” He let Avana go back to whatever she was programmed to do. He yearned for the real ducklings. The ones he found himself attached to and wanting to have in his life. These…these weren’t them.
“You’re back,” Veritas murmured, walking into the kitchen looking haggard. Dark bags were under his eyes and his hair was a mess. “I didn’t think you would be back so soon.”
Shilou frowned. “Jade decided I was working too much and sent me home.” He hesitated. Should he mention the elephant in the room? “We need to talk,” he sighed bluntly.
“About what?” Veritas raised an eyebrow, drinking a cup of coffee.
“The children and Aventurine,” Shilou snapped, fed up with Veritas’ delusion. “They don't call me dad, Veritas. They don't have that same spark in their eyes- Avana hardly gets into accidents, Jasper hasn't touched a coding program, and I- it's not them , Veritas, why can't you see that?!” he stressed, voice growing louder with each word. “Even Kakavasha isn’t the same! He doesn’t act the same. He doesn’t even respond to Vasha half the time!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Veritas’ grip on the coffee mug tightened, nearly breaking it. “We’re all fine. You must be confused from all the work you’ve been doing. You’re barely home anymore. Of course people change.”
“This isn’t a simple change!” Shilou hissed. “They aren’t the same! You rebuilt them and programmed them. They’re nothing more than lifeless robots.” He paced around the kitchen. “It’s not right and you know it. I get that you’re grieving, but this…this is killing you.”
Veritas’ grip finally shattered the mug, his eyes darkened with rage. “You were a child when you lost everything; what could you possibly know about grief, Rose Quartz?" he spat, venom dripping from his tongue.
Shilou flinched back as if he had been slapped. “...I know that this isn't healthy, Veritas. And I can’t sit idly by anymore while you delude yourself more and more! They're gone , Veritas," He takes in a sharp breath. "I know it's hard to accept. But they're gone. You can't live like this forever."
Veritas scoffed and looked away. “I am not deluding myself,” he grumbled. He was, but he couldn’t admit it. He took a shuddering breath, flexing his hands. He swallowed thickly, blinking back tears. The pain and sorrow slowly drowned him. It was his fault after all.
“Yes, you are,” Shilou murmured, stepping closer. “You need help, Veritas. Let me help you.” He reached to comfort Veritas but the scholar slapped his hand away. Shilou sighed. Veritas Ratio was indeed a stubborn man. “It wasn’t your fault.”
Veritas froze. “Enough,” he spat angrily. “If you want food, there are leftovers in the fridge.” He promptly pushed passed Shilou and disappeared somewhere in the house, most likely his lab.
“Well that went well,” Shilou scoffed bitterly. He couldn’t handle it anymore. Veritas refused to listen to reason and he couldn’t watch his family walk around like everything was fine. He felt like he was going insane. He couldn’t do this anymore. Veritas was slipping further and further away. He knew what he had to do, but that didn’t mean he liked it.
Shilou bided his time. He couldn’t act immediately. He needed a set plan. So, he took a step back and observed, memorizing Veritas’ schedule. Veritas had early lectures to attend, and the ducklings didn’t have classes until the afternoon. With a heavy heart, Shilou knew now was the time to act.
Aventurine was the first he took out. When Veritas left, Aventurine was still sleeping soundly in their shared bedroom, a room Shilou hadn’t been comfortable in in a long time. Pulling the trigger was the hardest thing he ever had to do, but he loved Aventurine too much to prolong his suffering. Silent tears streamed down his face, ruining his makeup, but he didn’t care. Rationally, he knew he shouldn’t be crying. This wasn’t his Kakavasha. But it still hurt.
"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry, Kakavasha."
The tears didn’t dry as he made it downstairs. He could hear synthetic laughter coming from the living room. His hand trembled as he held his gun. It hurt.. It hurt so damn much to see strangers in the living room wearing the faces of those he held dear. Avana and Rivera were sitting together on the couch. Chase was on the floor and Jasper was sitting on the armchair. The cake cats were nowhere to be found.
“Shilou!” Rivera smiled sweetly at him, but seeing his distress she frowned.
“Are you okay, man?” Chase tilted his head.
“I’m sorry,” Shilou whispered, voice broken with grief. He aimed the gun.
Each one of them froze, eyes wide and filled with fear. “Dad, what…what are you doing?” Avana trembled, squeezing Rivera’s hand in a death grip. Chase bristled and Jasper tensed. Rivera swallowed thickly, body quivering.
Avana’s whispered words pierced Shilou’s heart. “Aeons, this wasn’t supposed to happen,” he murmured.
BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG.
Silent tears turned to heartbreaking sobs. The gun clattered to the ground and his knees buckled. Gold liquid splattered the living room. For a long while, he hunched over wailing. It was over. They were well and truly gone. They had been gone for months. Why…why did it hurt so much? It wasn’t supposed to hurt this much.
After what felt like hours, Shilou pushed himself to his feet. It wasn’t over just yet. His eyes stared at the locked door that led down to Ratio’s lab. He kicked in the door and descended into the lab. He held his rose quartz cornerstone. “Spirit, I need your help,” he croaked. “I can’t do this. I need you to take over and destroy everything.”
The Spirit appeared and Shilou’s vision went black, hiis mind blissfully blank. The Spirit growled and stalked the lab before unleashing its wrath, destroying everything in sight. But it left the pictures Veritas had of Aventurine and the ducklings. When Shilou woke up, only the pictures remained. Everything else was turned to ash and that golden liquid. “Thank you,” he whispered, staggering back up the stairs with the pictures.
It took hours to clean everything up and to get rid of their robotic bodies. It hurt so, so much to let go of them all over again. It was dark by the time Shilou got rid of everything and when Veritas came home.
It was too quiet when Veritas got home. Much too quiet. A sorrowful aura had filled the house and dread pooled in Veritas’ stomach. He dropped his briefcase on the kitchen island. “Aven?” he called out in the silent house. “Avana?” He walked around. “Rivera? Chase?” He kept searching. “Jasper?” No one answered, and no one was found.
“Shilou?” Veritas saw the IPC Stoneheart sitting in the living room, looking down at the photos from his lab. “What did you do?” he whispered, a sinking feeling in his gut.
“...” Shilou glanced up at Veritas. He hadn’t bothered to fix his ruined makeup. “What I had to do.”
Veritas’ blood ran cold. “You…what did you do to them?” he screamed. “You…you took them away.” He rushed to his lab, finding the door kicked down and the research destroyed. “What…what have you done?” he wailed, scrambling at the ruins. His fingers burned but he didn’t care. “They’re gone. They’re gone!” he roared.
Shilou didn’t even try to block Veritas from trying to attack him. “They were gone the moment they died! What you created were soulless replicas!” Shilou grunted, fighting back to defend himself, but he couldn’t bring himself to hurt Veritas. “You have to listen to me. I did this to help you!”
Veritas panted heavily, stumbling back. “You didn’t help! You took them away. How could you!?” he growled, his hand glowing as he summoned his Imaginary. “They were your family. Of course you’d kill the only people who ever cared about you,” he hissed.
Shilou flinched. “Calm down, please,” he begged, raising his hands in surrender. “Just listen to me, please.” Fresh tears welled in his eyes. But Veritas was beyond listening to reason. In a fit of rage, he threw the charged chalk at Shilou. A little too hard, a little too powered with Imaginary. Shilou’s eyes widened as agonizing pain seared through his chest. He coughed, blood trickling from his mouth.
“No! No, no, no…” Cold realization splashed him. What had he done? Veritas rushed to Shilou as he crumpled to the ground, blood seeping from the wound in his chest. The powered chalk went through and through. “No, I’m sorry,” tears blurred his eyes. “I didn’t…I didn’t mean to.” He ripped his sash, desperately trying to stop the bleeding and bandaged up the wound.
“It’s okay,” Shilou weakly coughed up more blood. “I know it wasn’t you.” He reached up to cup Veritas’ face. “It’s not your fault.”
“Shut up. Let me…let me…” The blood already soaked his sash. There was too much, too much blood. Veritas choked, hyperventilating as he tried to close the wound. But, he couldn’t. No matter how hard he tried even after Shilou’s body went cold. Sobs wracked his body. He killed them all. It was his fault.
Shilou was right, Veritas realized. This…this was slowly killing him. Stumbling away from the body, he stared at the blood on his hands. He couldn’t do this anymore. Everyone he loved was gone, and he caused it. Veritas threw up bile. It was his fault. What was he supposed to do now? Even if he rebuilt them, he couldn’t ever forget this. Nothing would be the same. It was…all gone.
Veritas ugly cried until there were no more tears to shed. Nothing was right. Nothing would ever be right. He…he was a monster.
—
Topaz had been the one to be assigned the case. She walked into the empty house. There were still blood stains on the carpet. Numby whined sadly. It had been three weeks since the death of Rose Quartz and the disappearance of Veritas Ratio. The scholar vanished. No one had found him or any trace of where he could have gone. Rumors circulated that he was also murdered, but there was no evidence.
Nothing. Topaz found nothing. No trace of Veritas or any indication of how Rose Quartz had been killed. She gritted her teeth and blinked back tears. The death of a Stoneheart was a serious thing. All hands were on deck to find the killers. To her surprise, even Sugilite willingly wanted to help find his ex’s killer.
Numby chirped, nudging a piece of paper hidden in a secret compartment under Veritas’ bed. “What’s that?” Topaz murmured, picking up the paper and unfolding it. A handwriting too neat for a doctor filled the page. Tears slid down her cheeks as she read the letter.
If you are reading this, then I am most likely gone. Do not find me. You won’t be able to. This is all my fault. My students died because I convinced them to go on that field exploration. Said exploration was attacked. Aventurine tried to save them, and he got overwhelmed by the criminals. They all perished.
Topaz shivered. She remembered that day vividly. Those cruel monsters broadcasted Aventurine’s execution. The criminals were swiftly dealt with, but the damage had been done. Everyone on that transport had been killed.
I rebuilt them. I made clones of them because I couldn’t let them go. I just wanted my family back, but I was a fool and let my grief kill me. My dear Shilou tried to reason with me. He tried to help me, but I didn’t listen. I drove him to kill them all over again. Though, would you call it killing if they were already dead?
I found out and in my anger, I killed him. I threw a charged chalk at him too hard and too powered by Imaginary. He died in my arms. I killed everyone I loved. It’s my fault. There’s no need to search for his killer. I’m right here. If I could go back, I’d change everything. Love truly is the worst curse imaginable. I loved them. I loved them all. And I killed them.
I deserve what I have coming to me. Whoever is reading this, I have one request. Please visit their graves. Don’t let them be forgotten.
Doctor Veritas Ratio