When Worlds Collide (Blue Diamond x Reader)

Chapter 12: The Reveal

You had expected to see something resembling a gleaming spherical jewel when you beheld the Gem Homeworld, and it looked like that would have been the case if you had arrived thousands or millions of years earlier. The planet's surface was iridescent and brilliantly lit, covered entirely in artificial structures, but its serenity was turned to chaos by the fact that the planet had split apart, revealing the dark hues of a cooled and solidified mantle and core. Homeworld was split into three main chunks, but some loose bits floated in orbit like rough moons, while smaller pieces encircled the planet in two rings of rock and dust.
“Where shall I put us down, My Diamond?”
“Actually Pearl, I'll take over from here,” Blue replied. “We're on a custom course today.” Taking a seat upon her throne, she raised her arm, using its movements to guide the direction of the ship. Instead of aiming for the surface, she steered into the midst of the vast cracks, towards the planetary core. “The one place no one on Homeworld would be bothered to look,” she explained. “Any gem readings?”
“Scattered pockets, My Diamond. Most read as defective.”
“Probably some off-colours in hiding. We needn't bother them. Just look for anything which could be-”
“A diamond!” Pearl interrupted. “At the top of that peak.” She indicated the point where one of the pieces of the fractured planet had broken away. Built on it was a dark structure which almost looked like… a castle?
“We'll go down there as soon as we're ready,” Blue declared. “But first, (Y/N), we must tend to your needs. Surely you are hungry?”
“A bit, yeah, but I don't imagine there's anything to be done about that.”
“Actually, I do keep a supply of food onboard. Partly for occasions similar to this, and partly for when I host organic diplomats.” You looked surprised. “What?” she shrugged. “We can't very well go around wiping out or conquering EVERY society we encounter. Anyway, I believe I'll join you. Perhaps we can talk.”
“Of course, My Diamond. You aren't needed here?”
“I'm sure someone will come tell me if anything happens,” she said, triggering the other gems to nod vigorously.
“(Y/N)...” Blue started hesitantly as you both sat at a small table several minutes later while you ate a small meal, “I don't presume to tell you what to do, but… if you follow me down there, I cannot guarantee that you will be safe. I say this because you know I would never place you in harm's way, but this is not my choice, and I cannot control what happens.”
“Blue,” you replied gently, placing you hand on hers, “what we're dealing with is beyond anyone's control, and we have no idea what's going to happen. That's how my kind live every day. And besides, while I wouldn't dream of trying to tell you not to go, I can say definitively that you won't be going without me right beside you.”
“Why do you insist on doing such things? I may not look the part, but I am extremely powerful and quite durable. Before what happened to Pink, no one even knew if a Diamond could be shattered. You stand to gain nothing from endangering yourself, but stand to lose much. Why do you insist?”
You rubbed her hand lightly.
“Maybe because you’ve been forced to face things alone for too long and I want to change that. Maybe because if anything happened to you, I’d never be able to sleep again if I didn’t think I’d done all I could. Maybe…” You looked up, making eye contact and managing a nervous smile. “Maybe because I… love you. Blue, I… I know I haven’t known you for very long, and maybe we haven’t had as many conversations as either of us would like, but somehow I already know that, when this is all over, if you take me back to Earth, I’m going to be standing there, torn between two worlds, and I don’t know how I’m ever going to let you go. I don’t think I ever can, or ever will.”
“I…” She stood and took a step back, looking down at the floor, reflecting. “I didn’t know that a human could feel this way. I… suppose I can no longer deny that I…”
You stood in front of her and held both her hands. She was surprised at first, but slowly raised her head to meet your gaze.
“Then don’t deny it,” you said, placing a hand as delicately as you could upon her cheek and, after checking to be sure she seemed receptive, kissing her softly. You were going to break it off so you could see her reaction, but found there was no need to when she wrapped her arms around you. You surrendered yourself to bliss for what seemed an eternity, until you noticed your face was wet. Breaking from the kiss, you realised there were tears in her eyes, and yours as well as a result. Only this time it was different. This time you could feel that the tears you shared were of joy.
“Sorry, I’m sorry, I’m doing it again,” she laughed. “Although do you know what? I think this is the first time I’ve cried today!”
“A new record,” you replied, laughing along with her. You smirked. “So uh, what was it you'd started to say? Something about you couldn't deny something or other?”
“(Y/N)...” she groaned, waving you off.
“C’mon…” you teased.
“(Y/N)...” she whined, embarrassed.
“C’mon…” you said pleadingly.
“(Y/N).” Her sudden intensity and seriousness caught you off guard. She seized you by the shoulders. “I love you.” You hugged her tight.
“So… what do we do now?”
“I'm not certain. The nature of your species means our time together will be tragically brief, so I hate to consider wasting time, but at the moment, all I can think about is being right now and right here, in your embrace.”
“Good. Because there's nowhere I'd rather be. You are, beyond any doubt, the most beautiful thing I've ever seen on my planet or out here in the stars. For so long as I'm alive, you'll never have to be alone again.”
“How is it you manage to come across more devoted than most of the gems created specifically to serve me? You almost remind me of an old story about a mayfly falling in love with the moon.”
“I've never heard of that one, although I guess it's pretty self-explanatory. Since it involves mayflies, I'm guessing it's from Earth?”
“Surprisingly not,” she replied. “It's an old fable from a world called

[01010010 01000101 01000100 01000001 01000011 01010100 01000101 01000100]

For an instant, it seemed like reality shuddered. You froze and looked around.
“What were we talking about just now?” you asked, confused and a bit frightened.
“I… I don’t know.” She shook it off. “Perhaps nothing important.”
“Yeah, yeah, probably. But I did say, didn’t I, that I, y’know..?”
“Yes,” she replied, smiling. “You did.”
“Good,” you said, clutching her hand. She reached around you with her free hand and brought you closer, holding your head to her shoulder. Her dress left her shoulders uncovered, meaning you could feel the warmth of her smooth skin against your face.
“For all of the days we might share, let us be together.”
“Of course,” you agreed, stroking her fluffy hair. “I'd dream of nothing else.” You stayed there just holding her for a while. “I love you Blue.”
“My Diamond!” Zircon yelled as she burst in. She froze and turned her back. “Umm, I didn't see anything!”
“No no, please, it's quite okay. What has happened?”
“There was a human on the bridge. A female matching the description of the one (Y/N) witnessed on Earth and in a dream.” She turned to address you. “She spoke as if you were in the room, and didn't seem to respond to anyone else. She appeared and disappeared out of nowhere, but didn't appear to be a hologram or hallucination. All she told us - well, told you, was her intention - was to ‘stay out of the shadows that are too deep, and beware of the grey man.’”
She and Blue both looked at you expectantly. You shook your head.
“I have absolutely no idea what that means. What strikes me as odd is that she's supposedly in the future and can communicate with me because she already knows what I'm going to do and say. She knew I was going to be there… but I wasn't.”
“You're right,” Zircon agreed. “Suspicious almost. Has this person yet given any concrete, unquestionable indication of future knowledge?”
“Not aside from knowing what I was going to say in the dream. But I guess then it's possible that she actually could hear me right then and was just pretending to be in another time.”
“My thought exactly. My Diamond, I must caution that we could be walking into a trap.”
“After all we've seen, and how far we've come,” Blue said hesitantly, “what other choice do we have?”
“Does that mean it's time, then?” you asked.
“I believe it does,” she answered, nodding slowly. “Unless, of course, you feel the need to rest first?”
“Thanks for the consideration, but I'm good for a while. I'm ready whenever you are. And remember,” you said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze, “Whatever you find down there, you won't be facing it alone.”
“And I'm coming with you too!” Zircon declared.
“Oh… I don't mean any insult, but do you really think you'll be of help?” Blue asked.
“Well, actually, My Diamond, it isn't just me.”
The other gems stepped in, evidently having been standing just outside.
“All of you?” Blue gasped. “You all would be willing to come?”
“The truth must be found,” Zircon declared proudly.
“You'll have need of my skills,” Aquamarine noted.
“As long as there's gonna be a fight, count me in!” Jay chuckled.
“I know I've failed before, but I want the chance to make you proud,” Holly said.
“I live to serve you. Not because I was made to, but because I want to,” said Pearl.
“Well?” you asked, beaming broadly. “What do you say?”
“I say with all of us together, they'll never know what hit them!” Blue replied.
You all touched down near the mysterious structure. From the ground, you could see that it was a castle, encircled by a massive wall. The entire structure was built of a strange black stone which seemed to hum ominously. You were pleased to discover that the gate was open. Standing within the castle walls, Blue returned to her full height and gazed up at the mass of spires and stairways. The front door was appropriate for her height, but before she could reach for the handle, Aquamarine opened it for her. Inside was a long corridor, lined with pillars, the floor tiled with a black and grey diamond pattern, and at the far end a spartan throne of dark stone, far smaller than you expected, a fitting size for an average human.
“I knew she’d be here,” Blue muttered. “The one place on Homeworld that escapes the watch of White Diamond.” She turned back to the group. “Are you sure you're ready? Once we go in, we may never come out.”
Everyone nodded, some more hesitantly than others, except for Aquamarine.
“I'm not ready. I don't know how to handle this.”
“I understand,” Blue said gently. “You may return to the ship. Wait for us as long as you think it's safe.”
“No thank you. I'm not ready, but I'm not letting that stop me.”
Blue smiled and nodded, then stepped into the castle, the rest of you following close behind.
Predictably, the massive door slammed shut as soon as you were inside.
“Black Diamond!” Blue declared in her most authoritative voice. “Step forward!”
“(Y/N)?” a voice called timidly. The same woman you kept seeing stepped out from her hiding place behind Black Diamond's throne. “You did it! You figured it all out! I can't believe you did it! I can't believe… I can't believe…” she looked down and started to laugh. When she looked up, her eyes were pure black. She continued to laugh and began to change before your eyes. “I can't believe you're really so stupid!” said Black Diamond.