Steven Universe fic

part 11 Chapter Six: Belly of the Beast

Pink Zirconia turned to their friends, glancing at Garnet to see if the fusion could provide an answer.
They had to somehow get inside the palace, undetected and away from the battle waving just below them.
Garnet nodded toward what seemed like an opening where the palace met the cliffside, a very small walkway that could lead them around the back and toward one of its entrances.

Zirconia stretched out a pair of arms and picked up Connie and Lion, slinging them into the air to land on the small cliffside.
Connie stabbed her sword into the rocks, preventing herself from falling and clawed her way onto the cliffside, beckoning the rest to be thrown over as well. The fusion grabbed pearl and Amethyst next, hurdling them toward Connie, followed shortly thereafter by Garnet. Then, they reached out and slingshotted themselves to meet up.

"We should be able to find a way inside through the back." Pearl murmured, glancing down at the mayhem of gems fighting below them. The small group filed into order and shimmied toward a corner, spotting an archway that opened up at the back end of the palace. They ducked behind the wall, entering through archway and into what looked like a garden.

The bright and colorful plants contrasted starkly with the dead world around them, the familiarity of the place forced Pink Zirconia to halt, gazing at the flowers that grew around them.

"I've been here.." they muttered softly, the fusion looked down, seeing the vines and weeds that grew along the floor, for a moment they wrapped around the fusion's feet, cementing them to the ground. Panic filled their thoughts as they frantically kicked the earth, dismantling the growth beneath them.

"Zir-"

"I'm okay!" The fusion cut off Pearl before she could finish. "It's okay."

"It's alright." Pink Zirconia breathed, rubbing the sweat from their face. They shook their head, and glanced down at Amethyst and Connie who seemed confused and concerned, so the fusion forced a smile.

"Let's get going." The group made their way through the garden, stopping and hiding themselves from the quartz guards that stood near the entrance. Amethyst nodded at Connie, readying her whip for a sneak attack.

She threw the whip out, latching it around the foot of a quartz and yanking them back, Connie poofed them before they could scream out in astonishment and quickly poofed the quartz that stood beside her.

Pearl crouched behind the wall, listening intently for any other soldiers while Garnet bubbled to gems temporarily. The group entered the corridor, pausing every so often to listen for more guards, it was quiet, aside from an occasional quiet buzzing that irritated Pink Zirconia.

They filed into an adjacent hallway, stopping as a voice erupted from a glowing white room.

The hair on the back of Zirconia's neck stood on end as the voice filled their head and they began to tremble, their limbs coiling around themselves as if to comfort from the sound of White Diamond's voice.
The fusion clenched their eyes shut, murmuring to themselves.

"It's okay, it's okay, its okay, it's okay." But the fear grew nonetheless. Steven couldn't make it stop.
Spinel was spiraling as terror took hold on her, the fusion crumpled to the floor, nearly separating.
Pink Zirconia drew in a gasp, nearly choking on the bile that rose in their throat.

"We can do this. Can I do this?" They glanced at the crystal gems, then down at the floor, looking at their trembling hands. The fusion clenched their fists, "We have to."

Zirconia stood, steeling themselves in the words. They have to, even though it really, really, really scared them. It would be okay. It had to be okay, they would make it okay.

They followed the sound of White's voice, she spoke to an Obsidian, who nodded before exiting the room.

"It's so good to see you Starlight."