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Diamond was sitting on the School grounds, busy tending to their newly sharpened sword by Obsidian's skillful hands. Their fingers traced the outline of the sword as they hummed a familiar tune.
It was Bort's first time on the battlefield. Even though they were only new to all this fighting and sword swinging, it almost seemed as if the black haired gem already had years of experience. They already had a big head on completely wiping out all the Lunarians, all by their own hands.
Right. Despite having been paired up with this other diamond by Sensei.
Back then, Diamond was calm. They were so calm and kind hearted, that it was really pleasant to be around them, and at the time, Bort was the polar opposite. They were mean, and had an intimidating aura all around them. The other gems had second thoughts and worries of Sensei pairing the two together, and their worries weren't completely irrational.
It ticked Bort off so much whenever they heard the grating sound of cracks when Diamond was fending off the Lunarians on the patrols they were on together, but they never did confront the older gem--mainly because of what they've heard all around the School.
"Dia has really mellowed out, haven't they?"
"It's hard to believe this is the same Dia from before."
"Let's just hope they don't snap again..."
Unfortunately, every time Bort had to watch new cracks form on Diamond's arms, it was almost as if the sturdy wall of their patience had slowly cracked as well, and they finally confronted Diamond when they felt it was appropriate.
"Why do you keep fighting like that?" An unsuspecting Bort asked.
"Like what?"
"Like that. Why won't you let me do all the work? I don't crack under pressure, and I could handle battle techniques way easier than you do."
The beat of silence Bort received after that remark was pretty uncomfortable to a degree, but they continued on, even when they know they shouldn't.
"You're fragile. You shouldn't fight."
That was the last straw holding back Diamond's patience as well, and, shortly after that confrontation, the gems saw what they liked to call the real Diamond once again. If the usually calm, kind hearted Dia was reckless and fragile, then the real Dia was reckless and fragile, but aggressive. That new addition seemed like such a tedious and small detail to Diamond's overall character, but it really wasn't.
It hurt everyone's ears to hear them shriek and yell every time something ticked them off. Bort was mean and intimidating, but they only said the things that they felt mattered to them, like pointing out how Dia was reckless, but they never did mean it in an ill intentioned way. However, the real Dia was mean, intimidating, and crude. They said things they know would hurt the other gems. It was scary, how someone who seemed so kind and fragile showed their hideous true colours in the blink of an eye, thanks to a certain somebody's words.
Ever since then, Bort has learned to keep their mouth shut, even when Dia's fighting style ticks them off. Even when the older gem's hideous gremlin face contorted into a lopsided grin as they shot back the golden arrows back to the Lunarians in one reckless swing, and the grating sound of cracks sounded in the air. Even when Bort really wanted to know where the song Dia has been humming came from, just so they could listen to the real deal instead of mindlessly humming a beautiful tune.
Bort would never admit it, but they almost looked up to the older gem--with their determination to push forward, despite how much their body was falling apart.
Bort also would never admit that they were really, really jealous of the real Dia.
"That gem does stand out. Even from this distance," Dia muttered to themself when they saw long, black locks in the wind, all the way at Hollow Cape, from where they were sitting at, exhausted from today's activities. It took them a while for it to click inside of their head when they saw all the other figures standing next to Bort, and when it did, Dia's sword dropped to the ground with a loud noise, echoing inside the School.
Diamond quickly picked it up again, and with it, their pride.
'What are they all doing there?'
'Why is Bort with them?'
'Where are they going?'
All of these questions welled up inside of Dia, and before they knew it, their legs already gave chase, running through the grass at breakneck speed. They're sure they heard the other gems--Padpa, Cairngorm and Lapis to be exact, talking in a panic just right behind them, something like "Cinnabar is gone!" but that was the least of their worries now. The one thing they wanted to do right now was to stop Bort. They didn't even know why that was the first thought on their mind, but something tells them that they need to stop Bort. They want Bort to stay.
They need Bort to stay, even when they're not even sure if Bort was going away.
The rest of the gems on Bort's side--Zircon, Jade, Cinnabar and others Dia couldn't really make out from where they were had already gone on what seemed to be a Lunarian's... ship? It really didn't matter to Dia. They needed to stop Bort.
"If you want to turn back, this is your chance."
Bort only stayed quiet when all the other gems with them assured Cinnabar with their own reasons for boarding the ship. Flashing a look to their side, Bort could see their companions--Zircon looked apologetic as always, their fingers tracing the outline of Rutile's wooden box. It somehow reminded Bort of the way a certain someone would trace the outline of their sword. Jade could be seen conversing with Cinnabar, Pink Topaz and Green Diamond were in awe of the Lunarian Cicada, and Chrysoberyl was being guided up the ship by the new Morganite.
They were the only one who hadn't boarded the ship just yet.
"Bort? Is something the matter?" Zircon asked through knitted eyebrows. Bort couldn't bring themself to answer, even though the answer to that question was relatively easy and simple. 'No.'
"It's okay if you want to turn back. I'm not forcing you or anything. Unless you're Jade," Cinnabar assured them, earning a smack on their arm from the green haired gem. "Hey!"
Bort stood there in silence for a good few minutes, not noticing the bright glow of someone running towards them until one of the gems on the ship pointed it out. "Hey, isn't that... Dia?"
They felt something click inside of them when they turned to look at the direction of where Jade had been pointing, when a gust of wind hit their face right then and there, and--
"WATCH OUT!!!! BORT—" Zircon fumbled from inside the ship to grab at the younger gem's uniform before yanking them inside the ship, making Dia's sword miss by a few inches from completely beheading Bort right then and there. All of a sudden, Bort's head felt much lighter, and that's when they noticed that a good length of their hair was cut--by none other than their patrol partner, Diamond.
The ship they were on instantly took off, and one of Bort's shoes almost fell from them from how much of a panic they were in, but was saved by Cinnabar's quick reflexes. From an opening in the ship, Bort peeked through it to see Dia, with an expression Bort rarely sees nowadays--it wasn't the usual gremlin snarl they've got going on. It wasn't even that lopsided, shit eating grin. It was that genuine hurtful look on Dia's face, and the last time Bort ever saw that was during their confrontation with the older gem.
Bort expected to hear a shriek from all the way down in Hollow Cape, a hurtful, angry, furious declaration of Dia's betrayed feelings, but it somehow hurt even more in their metaphorical heart when Dia only stayed silent, that sorrowful expression stuck on their face until all Bort could see was a dot on the ground below, and the ship they were on had gone past the limits of the sky they once thought was there.
"Cinnabar is gone. And all the other gems... And Rutile. And Zircon. And Bort." Padparadscha dropped to the ground on their knees. Cairngorm and Lapis caught up soon after, bringing the rest of the gems who didn't board the ship with them. Everyone looked hurt. Betrayed. Even the overworked doctor, who put hours and days and even years of hard work into their hands looked like they were about to break down, what with their face having cracks all over it, but Diamond was the one who looked the most hurt.
They reached down to grab the long locks of black hair, before letting it slip through their fingers. If they could cry, if they could shed tears like what they've read from the old, ancient dust ridden books in the library taught them the ancient creatures that inhabited this planet used to do, they're sure they probably would've cried out a whole river from how utterly hurt they were.
"FUCK!!!!"
Dia barked out, their eyebrows knitting together, but not in anger--more to sorrow, and they clutched the long black locks in their hands as hard as they could. All the other gems were startled from the volume of their voice, even the crestfallen Padparadscha, but they didn't care. Stomping the ground, Dia kept cursing themself. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. FUCK!!!!!"
Needless to say, when they finally calmed down, the sorrow in their heart has been turned into rage and hatred, welled up by the pride they wear on their gloved sleeves.
"Even after all this time, that gem still stands out."
"Who? You mean... Dia? But that... Is that really them? I don't remember their hair being that short, and what's with that—is that a whip?!"
Looking up at the sky and the huge fleet of Lunarians and traitorous gems, Dia cracks their whip and knits their eyebrows at the sight of a familiar black haired gem amongst their enemies. They hear the rustling of grass behind them and almost snaps their neck looking towards it to see Phos, yelling at them, concerned. "Dia, go back inside!"
"HUH?!" Dia snarled, making the mint green gem flinch a bit. "No.. just...—"
Dia steadied themself, and lowered the volume of their voice, something they learned to do over the years half of the gems in the School were gone. "I'll be fine. You go back. PROTECT KONGO!!" Okay, maybe not completely.
Phos hesitated for a while, but ultimately agreed, and ran back with a nod, but not before flashing one last look at the gem who made a certain promise with them from a time that seemed so long ago.
And with that, a black haired gem dropped from out of the sky and landed on the grass, face to face with a furious whip-equipped battle maniac with a shit eating grin on their face. "WELL, WELL, WELL. LOOKIE WHO CAME CRAWLING BACK WITH THEIR TRAITOR JERK FRIENDS." Bort could only remain silent at Dia's harsh remark, making the older gem continue. "FIGHT ME."
To this, the younger gem could only offer a confused and quizzical look. "What?"
Bort's eyes looked towards the whip in Dia's hand, and they unconsciously felt their hair when they saw the familiar black shine of it. They also couldn't help but notice the bright glint of some parts of the whip, and another quick look at Dia and their short hair, now styled in an undercut, immediately answers any questions they had.
"ARE YOU FUCKIN' DEAF? DID ALL THOSE YEARS ON THE MOON MAKE YOU UNABLE TO COMPREHEND WORDS ANYMORE? I SAID FIGHT ME!!"
Bort's grip on their own sword loosened. "I..."
Dia's expression contorted into an even more confused one. "SPIT IT OUT!!!" Bort gulped, then continued on, "...don't care about fighting anymore. On the moon, we didn't need to fight. We could just enjoy the life there. We didn't need to worry about the Lunarians. I don't think I can even fight properly anymor—"
CRACK!!
Dia cracks their whip once again, almost making Bort jump.
"DON'T GIVE ME THAT SHIT!!!"
Dia tries to calm themself down, and remembers Lapis' advice to steady themself and think with a clear mind, but the raging emotions and fury inside of them was making it really, really hard for them to do that. "I'VE BEEN WAITING SINCE FOREVER TO WHOOP YOUR SORRY ASS—
YOU DON’T GOTTA WORRY ‘BOUT THE LUNARIANS ON THE MOON?
YOU COULDA JUST ENJOYED THE LIFE THERE?
YOU GOTTEN RUSTY FROM ALL THAT PARADISE BULLSHIT ON ENEMY TERRITORY?
LIKE I FUCKIN’ CARE!! I’M GONNA PULVERIZE YOU, YOU TRAITOROUS LITTLE SHIT!!!!”
The younger gem deadpanned. "Only me?"
"I'LL FUCKIN' COME FOR THE OTHER GEMS AFTER I GRIND YOU INTO DUST!!"
And with that, Dia charged forward, their diamond-bort whip hitting against Bort with enough force to shatter the younger gem, and, as rusty a skill they have now, not even Bort would want to go down without a fight--and so, Bort swung their sword down at their former partner-turned-yet-another-enemy with just as much force. The older gem seemed pleased at that, the parts of their face that weren't shattered showing an accomplished grin.
Bort did the same. With just the same amount of snide in their own grin, they managed to utter the words, "You haven't changed at all, Didi."