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A beautiful pearl stands next to a purple diamond. The Watchers are what they’re called. Watchers are all different kinds of diamonds. They are large, beautiful and they rule all other gems.
A Pearl stands next to his Watcher, listening to their every word. He follows and he obeys.
His Watcher in particular was beautiful. The beauty of it would hurt anybody’s eyes.
The Watcher wore a long robe of sorts, hanging off its shoulder and purple squares floated around its body.
Pearls typically looked similar to their Diamonds, Grian did not. Grian wore a red outfit, his hair was fluffy and brown. He almost looked human. His gem was dead center on his back. He was given the ability to fly with his gem being there so conveniently.
Grian didn’t dislike the Watchers. He didn't dislike being a Pearl. In fact, he was quite happy with his status as a Pearl. It meant he got to observe and serve the rulers of Homeworld.
But, he couldn’t help the overwhelming feeling of boredom that hung above his head. Hearing the Watchers talk constantly about new boring plans about boring world domination. He was getting quite sick of it.
“Grian!” A voice yelled, he quickly flinched before looking up to his Watcher. Grian got the privilege of a name. It was only used when he was in trouble.
“Yes, Watcher?”
“Did you hear what I said?” The Watcher said knowingly, Grian froze and he could feel the anxiety building up in his chest.
“No, Watcher. I didn’t hear, I apologize.” Grian wasn’t actually sorry about it, his Watcher was quite boring.
“How useless. Despite being a Pearl, you somehow seem to lower my expectations for you the longer you’re here., Grian.” The Watcher said picking at its nails. Grian hadn’t been around for that long, only a few hundred years. Compared to all the other Pearl’s that served Diamonds, he was the newest one.
“I’m sorry.” The Watcher stared him down, and deemed the response appropriate and rolled its eyes.
“We’re going to visit a kindergarten, Pearl.” The watcher said getting closer to observe him.
“A kindergarten?” Grian stared up with a puzzled look.
“Yea, you do know what that is, correct?”
“Of course I do. I’m a Pearl, I’m aware of most things involving Gems and our accomplishments .” Grian said pridefully. “But, I was wondering as to why we are going?” Grian hesitated before asking, not wanting to get in trouble. “If I may know.” He added the last part hastily.
“We’re just checking to see our brand new gems. We need to see if that part of the planet was strong enough to handle a kindergarten.” The Watcher’s gem glowed a bit before dimming down for a second, behind them a warp pad lit up.
Grian immediately followed the bigger Gem.
-
Arriving at the Kindergarten was fast and easy, warping made that a lot quicker.
The land around them was barren of any life. It was completely dead, no plants to be seen, no creatures to be seen, just nothing at all.
The Watcher walked in front of Grian, and he followed quietly.
The Watcher ordered Grian to scan the walls.
No signs of any gems hatching.
The Watcher squinted, looking around.
“Pearl.” The Watcher said cautiously.
“Someone is watching us.” Grian responded carefully.
“I know.” The Watcher almost looked bored at the fact someone was also there with them.
“What should I do, my Diamond?”
“Scout the area. Look for any hatched gems, whoever is watching us doesn’t seem too keen on coming out.” The Watcher summoned its own panel in front of it and began typing something out on it. Grian did as he was told and began to look around.
Kindergartens were always so eerie. They were quite the eyesore, it was all gloomy, dim and boring.
He walked past most of the holes in the wall, all looking a pretty decent shape for Sunstones. He remembered the type of gems being formed here.
The sizes all looked mostly normal. Except for one. He took note that the shape of this hole was a bit taller than the other ones. A bit skinnier, nothing too abnormal. He could take a peek inside, just to make sure nothing was too wrong.
Grian reached out his hand towards the hole and popped his head in, but what he found was nothing?
There was nothing? That was strange. If nothing was in the hole, where was the gem?
He immediately found out as someone grabbed him from behind and covered his mouth.
Grian was a Pearl, he wasn’t weak by any means, but he had been caught so off guard he forgot what to do for a second.
“Oh god, please don’t freak out. It’s just weird for another gem to go peeking in a gem’s hole!” The voice said, it was a light and joking voice. Quite a soothing voice, it sounded like he spoke in swirls.
Grian immediately snapped out of his trance and he used his foot to kick the much bigger gem off his feet. The Sunstone fell with a quiet “oof” and Grian immediately summoned a weapon from the pearl on his back and pointed it towards him.
“Who are you?” Grian breathed out.
The gem gulped nervously and tried slowly backing away from the sharp object being pointed at his face.
As Grian observed the gem, the first thing he realized that he was in fact a Sunstone, his gem was dead center on his chest, where a heart would be.
The second notable thing was that his gem was cracked.
His eyes softened at that, and he put his weapon down slightly.
They were at a stalemate, neither knew how to react.
The gem looked like it was about to speak, when all of a sudden, loud footsteps could be heard. Grian panicked, he quickly turned around.
The Watcher was there and it had most definitely seen the Sunstone.
Grian tried to warn the gem, but it was too late.
“Pearl! You found one!” The Watcher said excitedly, but when the Watcher realized that Grian was pointing a weapon at the gem, it froze. “Oh, I see.”
The Watcher made its way over to the two, the Sunstone tried to run away but it had a limp of sorts, as if it couldn’t walk correctly. The Watcher immediately picked up the Sunstone.
“You don’t get to hurt my Pearl, Sunstone.” The Watcher snarled and began to crush the gem in its hand. Grian panicked internally, he didn’t want the gem to get shattered, he couldn’t live with that. His eyes met the Sunstone’s eyes, so full of emotion, mostly fear.
Grian was impulsive.
“Wait!” Grian screeched. The Watcher paused in shock, as did the strange gem. The Watcher raised an eyebrow carefully.
“What is it, Grian?” The Watcher asked, irritation dripping from its voice.
“The Gem.” He hesitated, but he couldn’t just let that gem get shattered. “Its gem is cracked.”
The Watcher raised an eyebrow again and turned to the gem it had nearly killed. The gem right above his heart was indeed cracked. He stared back at the Diamond with both fear and a small smile.
“We can give him to the other Diamonds?” Grian suggested, before quickly adding, “For the cluster.”
The Watcher’s eyes widened with understanding.
“Of course! Pearl, you’re brilliant.” Grian immediately fell for the praise and smiled.
The Sunstone was staring right at him. He jumped a bit when their eyes met, but Grian quickly turned away.
The 2 of them stepped on the warping pad, with the Sunstone in the Watcher’s hand.
The warp panel immediately took them into the Watcher’s room.
“Pearl! Take the gem to the cells for me, will you?”
“Of course, my Diamond.”
The Sunstone was handed to Grian, and he kept a strong grip around the Sunstone’s wrists.
As the doors closed behind Grian, he let out a deep sigh of relief.
“You!” The sunstone said with wide eyes and a delighted smile, “You saved me!”
“What?” Grian said shocked, “I did not save you! I’m making better use of a cracked gem!”
“Sure,” The sunstone dragged out and giggled, “Sure, of course and not because you were swindled by my amazing looks and charms!”
Grian immediately felt his face heat up in anger.
“As if!” Grian rolled his eyes, and kept a frown on his face as they walked towards the cells.
The silence was a bit draining.
“Where are we going?” The Sunstone asked, genuinely curious.
“Cells. We need you for the cluster.” Grian could practically feel the Sunstone freeze next to him.
“What?” The Sunstone said so fearfully that Grian almost regretted saying that. “You can’t.”
“I can and I will.” Grian said mercilessly.
“But,” The Sunstone’s voice was strained,, “They’ll kill me.”
“That’s not how that works.”
“It practically is! I’ll die, Grian!” The Sunstone exclaimed. Grian froze at the usage of his name.
“Don’t call me that.”
“Why not? It’s your name, isn’t it? That’s what the Watcher called you.”
“I am a Pearl, so just call me a Pearl.”
“But is that your name?”
“It’s what I am.”
“Are you okay with what you are?” The gem asked carefully. Grian didn’t know how to respond, he froze for a second before shaking his head.
“Of course I am.” Grian needed to change the subject, “What’s your name?”
“Sunstone.” The gem said in a stubborn tone, turning the other cheek and pouting.
“Hilarious, seriously tell me your name.”
“That is my name, it’s what I am, right?” The Sunstone said smugly.
“Fine.” Grian could care less, it’s not like he was going to see much of the gem later on.
The silence thickened.
“It’s Grian.” Despite himself, he gave in. The gem immediately lit up at this and smiled brightly at him.
“Well, Grian, lovely name by the way,” The gem posed as if he was going to make the biggest reveal of the century, “My name is Scar.” Scar took a bow and wiggled his eyebrows at him.
Grian couldn’t help but feel slightly amused by the gems' actions.
“Hello Scar.”
“I like your wings.” Scar said pointing at the sides of Grian’s head, Pearls didn’t typically have those.
“My what?”
“Your wings,” Scar pointed, almost reaching out to touch them before pulling back. “They look nice on you.”
“Thank you.” Grian’s face turned a bright red. “I used to hate them, so I covered them up for a long time. I like your gem.”
“Thank you!” Scar gave him a small smile, “It’s cracked, I don’t mind though.”
Grian stared at the gem on his chest for a second.
Scar just shrugged, continuing to walk on their way to the cells.
They held a long conversation. It was about everything and nothing at the same time. They talked about the architecture of the building they were in, the Kindergarten and their favorite colors.
Grian was immediately impressed that Scar could talk about so much at once, he had truly captured Grian’s full attention that he hadn’t even realized they arrived at the cells.
“Oh.” Scar said softly.
“We’re here.” Grian confirmed their fears.
“Should I just go in?“ Scar asked cautiously.
Grian paused, he should say yes, he shouldn’t stall. He was supposed to do what his Diamond had told him, but everything in his body was telling him not to do any of that. He looked to the left of him. The gardens were nearby, a warping pad was in the center of the gardens.
“Yeah..” Grian replied, Scar awkwardly began to walk forward.
Grian couldn’t help himself.
He grabbed Scar’s wrist and he began to drag him to the left.
To the gardens.
What was he doing? Oh god, was he really disobeying his Diamond? Hundreds of thoughts clouded Grian’s head, but the only thing that consumed him was to protect Scar. Was he really going to risk his whole life for a cracked sunstone?
“Grian?” Scar asked, “Where are you taking me?”
“I’m getting you out of here, Scar.”
Scar’s eyes widened and he stared at Grian in awe. He gladly let himself be pulled by Grian, but he had a hard time walking.
When he turned back, he saw gems who spotted them. Some looked shocked, others confused, but some looked angry. He immediately slowed down with hesitance, but when he looked at Scar’s hopeful smile, he ran.
-
“My life is over!” Grian wailed as he tucked his face into his knees. The gravity of the situation has suddenly loomed over him. They were on some random planet he had decided to visit once with his Diamond; the planet called Earth.
“How will I ever show my face to Homeworld again?!” He cried out, “I’m such an idiot! I’m dead like actually dead!”
Scar, on the other hand, was fascinated by everything around them. They were in a pretty forest, sitting under a weeping tree. He must have realized how bad Grian was feeling because he got on his knees and intertwined their hands.
“Grian!” Scar shouted at him despite them being so close together.
“What?” Grian sniffled and looked up at him with teary eyes.
“Isn’t this exciting?” He beamed, “We’re on a new planet! One that I’ve never even seen before! Grian, you have got to look at the bright side. Besides, wasn’t the reason you brought me here was to save me? We’re safe!”
“But,” Grian frowned, thinking about their surroundings. They did seem to be in a safe area, and he knew Earth was typically a safer location that Homeworld didn’t seem too close to conquering.
“Do you really intend on returning to Homeworld?” Scar asked.
“I don’t know anymore. I don’t think I can, but who am I without my Diamond?” Grian asked somberly.
“You’re you, Grian.” Scar said warmly, brushing his hand on Grian’s cheek.
Grian tried to stop the sickly warm feeling in his stomach from arising, but he was sure that the look on his face gave him away. Scar immediately lit up and brought him into a soul-crushing hug.
-
“A beast!” Scar squealed, pointing at a bizarre looking creature. It was all green, slimy and its chest got bigger as it croaked.
“That’s no beast, Scar.” Grian said, summoning a hologram from the pearl on his back. “It’s what this planet calls “Frogs.”
“Oooh,” Scar said, staring at the frog with wide eyes. “Can we keep it?”
“No. They need to stay in their own habitat to survive, Scar.”
“Oh.” Scar pouted and walked away from the swamp.
Grian immediately sped up to catch up with Scar. Scar was a lot faster than him when it came to walking, he was also a lot bigger.
“I mean, Earth has a lot of other animals that can be kept as pets. There’s cats, dogs, hamsters, snakes and even some farm animals. There’s no need to be sad.” Grian said, trying to lighten the mood.
“I’m not sad, Grian.” Scar brightly waved him off, “It’s just a shame I can’t be friends with all the beasts of this planet!”
Grian sighed, of course.
The next few days were spent between them exploring the dark forest and all the new lifeforms on it. Scar had so many questions about everything, Grian gladfully provided all the facts he knew. Scar could listen to Grian talk for hours, and something about that made Grian’s heart swell.
At some point, the topic of fighting came up.
“Grian, do you know how to fight?” Scar asked with his head tilted.
“To fight? Yes, of course I do. Pearls were taught for a very long time how to protect their Diamonds, if needed.” Grian said matter of factly. “Why do you ask?” A hint of confusion in his voice.
“Have you ever sparred with another gem?”
“On some occasions.”
“Would you like to spar with me?” Scar grinned at him with his sharp teeth.
“Spar with you?” Grian squinted, Scar nodded for confirmation . “What do I get out of it?”
“You get to see me fight bravely!”
“Hm. No.”
“Ok ok! Fine, I’ll let you sleep on the log tonight?” Scar said knowing full well neither of them needed to actually sleep.
“Why do you want to spar?” Grian questioned.
“I’m not really sure,” Scar shrugged, “I guess I’m curious to how Homeworld taught gems to fight.” Grian processed this information and got up suddenly.
“Very well then. I accept your offer.”
“Wait, really?” Scar lit up and got on his feet.
“Hurry, before I change my mind.”
They both made their way to an open field.
“We shall use the same weapon, for fairness.” Grian summoned two identical swords from his back. They were a bit thick from what he usually used, but the skinnier ones wouldn’t do well with Scar.
Grian positioned himself, a hand behind his back and his sword neatly in front of him; a graceful stance.
Scar’s leg spread out, like he was ready to pounce. The sword was tight in his hold and he smiled; a rugged stance.
Grian counted them down, and immediately Scar pounced first. His sword clashed with Grian’s.
Grian made no effort to move if it was unnecessary. He walked backwards and forward defending each hit, while Scar attacked from each side only moving forward.
Grian eventually realized he needed to strike at some point so he began to move faster and farther. He needed to get around Scar somehow; he used his leg to try and make him trip but it only made Scar stumble slightly.
“You’re moving.” Scar’s sword got near his head.
“So, I am.” Grian swiftly dodged.
“Have you decided I’m worthy of fighting?”
“I never said you weren’t.” Scar’s sword clashed roughly against his.
“You didn’t need to, the way you fight tells me enough.”
Scar was slowing down, Grian smirked slightly; he supposes that’s what happens when you start too strong.
Grian began getting rougher, striking harder with each hit. Scar seemed to notice and went into a defensive stance.
They switched roles in their dance.
Scar’s fighting was aggressive and forward, while Grian’s was more graceful and modest.
It really did feel like dancing in a weird way. The moon hovering above them, giving them all the light they needed. Around them fireflies blinked and crickets were heard.
Grian couldn’t stop the smile growing on his face, he hadn’t felt this happy in a long time. In fact, he didn’t think he had ever felt this happy.
He looked at Scar with such loving eyes that it had caught him off guard. Scar stuttered his movements for a second, which gave Grian the perfect opportunity to trip him.
Scar fell to the floor on his back with a loud thud; Grian held the sword to his neck and smiled.
“I win.”
“So you have,” Scar let out a sigh, throwing his head back onto the grass to stare at the moon.
“Are you going to get up?” Grian asked, standing over Scar’s view.
“Sure.” Scar said, putting his hand in the air for Grian to help him up.
As Grian grabbed Scar’s hand, Scar grinned and pulled him down with all his force. Grian stumbled and he fell right on top of Scar.
“Scar!” Grian glared and hit his chest. Scar just giggled and held Grian’s face in his hands.
“You’re beautiful under the moon.” Scar said with such fondness that it drove Grian insane.
He could feel his face heat up as he stared at the suntone under him.
Scar laughed loudly at Grian’s reaction and Grian couldn’t help but laugh too; his laughter was always so contagious. Scar knocked their heads together and stared into his eyes.
All of a sudden, Scar began to glow and his eyes widened as he looked up.
What happened next was a blur, he remembers slowly opening his eyes to find Scar missing. He immediately panicked before trying to stand, but as he stood, he could feel that he wasn’t the only one standing up.
When Grian looked down at himself, he found a completely new gem. It was a beautiful white gem, with a small hint of blue and black, in the center of his stomach.
A moonstone.
He gasped, and his hands flew to his mouth.
“Scar?” The moonstone said. He knew he was the gem, but it wasn’t him; not just him at least.
“Grian!” The moonstone yelled with glee.
“What happened? Where are you? Are you me?”
“Grian! Grian! We fused!!” The Moonstone began jumping around in glee.
“We fused?” The moonstone’s face turned completely red, “How did we fuse? I thought different gems couldn’t fuse? This is so confusing. Is this…?” Grian hesitated, “Is this bad?”
“What? No!” Scar immediately grew upset, “We’re a fusion, Grian! Why would it be bad that you fused with me?”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” Grian quickly responded, “I’m just surprised!” He clarified.
“This feels..” Scar pondered.
“This feels amazing.” Grian finished for him.
The feeling was indescribable, it was as it the universe had let them truly be together. They had been so in tune that the universe blessed them with the ability to become one.
Grian felt incredibly giddy over this, his entire chest warmed.
The Moonstone began to run towards the forest, trying to find a lake of sorts. When they had found a pond, they quickly looked at their reflection.
“We’re beautiful.” Scar said in complete astonishment.
“We look amazing, Scar.” The moonstone said, “Is this really us? This is us, oh my god. I am feel crazy! How did we even do this? A few weeks ago I was working under a Diamond and now I’m fused with some random gem I fell in love with.”
The moonstone smiled fondly.
“I love you.” Scar said with all the gentleness he could muster.
“I love you more than anything in the world. I can’t believe we even did this. You’re crazy!” Grian said, bursting into a contagious laugh.
“I’m crazy? Look who’s talking!”
“I love you so much. I never want to unfuse.” Grian said abruptly; thus shocked Scar right out of his mind because their fusion separated quickly.
They both fell out of their fusions away from each other with loud thuds.
“Oof.” Scar said, scratching his head.
Grian immediately looked panicked.
“Did I say something wrong? Why did we unfuse? Are you okay?” He said, crawling over to Scar quickly and holding his hand to his chest. Scar just snickered and put their foreheads together.
“No, no. You just startled me..” Scar said looking elsewhere, “Grian?”
“Yes?” Grian said, fully determined to be captured by Scar’s next words.
“Would you like to be a fusion?” Scar said hesitantly, “With me. Like, for a long time.” He clarified, trying to think of a better way to phrase it.
“I would do anything to have that. If you’ll have me, of course.” He quickly responded with no hesitation. “Especially if it’s you. Only if it's you.”
Scar smiled at him and he let their fingers intertwine and he hugged Grian tightly.
They were fused again, and this time they did everything in their fusion. They were Moonstone, that was them.
Grian had never felt so loved in all these years, but being with Scar had changed something in his life permanently.
He wouldn’t ever let him go.