Work Text:
The first thing they knew, what that they didn't know what to do.
Gems should have come out knowing what to do when they form, at least basic orders, why didn't they?
They looked around. A vast canyon spread all around them, holes set in semi-organised rows stetched on for what seemed like eternity. The wind was hot, a star's heat beat down on them.
No amethysts. No jaspers. No rose quartzes. No gems... at all. Except for them.
This was facet 5. They knew that much. But what cut were they? They couldn't answer that question for themself.
A normal gem should know their gem type, facet, and cut perfectly. They should be able to know what to do, right off the bat. So why didn't they?!
Shit. They were defective.
They stood there for a long while.
So long, the star started moving out of sight from the horizon line.
What should they do?
They weren't meant to exist. They doubted there were any gems left on earth, if all the amethysts made here had already left.
How late were they to forming?
They seemed to be frozen. They couldn't think of their purpose. They couldn't think of orders. They couldn't think of anything useful.
They decided to go back into the hole they came from. Maybe this was all a strange dream.
But how could one's entire existence be a dream?
And there they sat, curled up in the hole that they had emerged from, for many light-dark cycles on this planet.
Sometimes, they felt numb. Like nothing actually existed. They were floating in darkness and confusion and sadness and numbness.
They would hear things, but from far-off distances. It meant nothing to them, except for perhaps this planet was inhabited.
And then, one day, they heard... something.
They snapped out of their dreamlike state. The noise sounded like... footsteps?
How could that be?
Was there perhaps gems on this planet after all?
They got up, and subconsciously reached for their gem to pull out a weapon.
A shield appeared.
It was light green, and looked to be transparent.
Huh. That's pretty neat.
They crawled outside of their hole, and looked around.
Same kindergarten. Same neat rows of holes.
The star that shone over this planet, and gave it warmth, was gone for now. It was chillier than the last time they were out here.
It was pretty much all the same.
Except this time...
Was that a shadow, standing at the entrance to the kindergarten?
Shit. What were they thinking? If that was a gem, come to re-evaluate earth, they'd certainly get carted off to homeworld and shattered. Why had they gone outside of their hole?
Their sheild dissapeared, and they ran back to their hole and curled back up inside. Maybe the shadow hadn't noticed them. Maybe they would pass right through, not noticing the defective gem that should be shattered.
The footsteps grew closer to their hole. They hoped to the stars that they wouldn't be found.
Just as the footsteps were seeming to pass their hole, they stopped.
Shitshitshitshitshitshitshit stars damn it
"Hello?" a voice called out. It was a "hard-sounding" voice, but not too hard. It was quieter.
They stayed silent.
"In the name of the infinetly knowledgeable Yellow Diamond and homeworld, I demand you to show yourself."
They were shaking as they exited their hole. They would not disgrace the name of the Diamonds.
There before them stood a gem a bit shorter then themself.
The gem was mostly black, with gold-looking flecks adorning their skin. Her hair was curly, seemingly put in some kind of half-up-half-down style, and had a starlike pattern woven in it. His bangs covered her eyes. She wore a gold cape and underneath was a black bodysuit with the yellow diamond logo on it.
A Star Diopside.
Realising that this gem was above them in the heiarchy of homeworld, crossed their armed and touched their fingertips together to create the diamond authority symbol.
"Who are you? What is your cut? Why are you even here?" The Diopside asked, moving closer and bending slightly forward to look the poor defective gem up and down.
"I-I'm... I don't know..."
The Diopside stood up straight. "What do you mean, you don't know. Every gem has a name, has a cut, has a purpose." He reached out a hand, and stopped right before touching them. "Permission to examine you? You are like no other amethyst that has come out of the facet 5 kindergarten."
They didn't know how to respond to that, really- They didn't know if they had a true choice in this matter, so they nodded slightly.
The Diopside touched the defective gem's face, turning it left and right gently.
"This is like nothing I have ever seen. You are not an Amethyst, not a Rose quartz. I don't recall any gems from the earth colony coming out as or intending to be green. In fact, the hole you came out of..." The Diopside pointed at the off-colours hole where they had wasted away for seemingly ages. "That is not on any of the records. 8XN, 8XO, 8XP, 8X... you are not any of these. Your cut does not have a number, seemingly."
"I... can't ever remember having one..." they answered. "Why... do I exist?"
The Diopside paused for a long moment.
"I could not tell you that. You have a quartz soldiers uniform, under the tragically beautiful Blue Diamond's colours. You were most likely meant to be an amethyst... but you are not an Amethyst."
Another pause.
"You're off-colour and defective, it seems. If I could... perhaps I could offer you become my gaurd... but oh, how ridiculed I would be by my fellow Diopsides if I had an off-colour as my quartz soldier!"
"Yet... perhaps it fits. I am slightly off-colour, so little as it is not noticable for most, but stars do those other Diopsides tease me and push me..."
The Diopside began to pace around the off-colour, mumbling to herself.
She stopped directly in front of the off-colour after a bit. "Gem, are you sure you don't even know the slightest bit of yourself. Perhaps even just a single letter of your name would do."
The off-colour felt that confused-hopeless-numbness creeping back in as the Diopside stared at them, waiting for a response.
They dropped to one knee, looking down at the ground, and could feel a sort of stinging in their eyes. Their vision became blurry.
"I... I don't know! I don't know, I have never known, I never will." They said, their voice felt shaky and there was a heavy feeling in their throat.
"If you really don't know, I will help you, gem," said the Diopside, dropping to one knee as well, and putting a soft hand on the off-colours shoulder. "You know what gem I am, a Diopside, nearly as smart as the infinetly knowledgeable yellow diamond. For now, you will be my gaurd, ah? We shall help each other."