//------------------------------// // Objection! // Story: My Little Universe: Season 5 // by EquestrianKirin //------------------------------// "This is such a relief. Thank you. You may go now." Homeworld. And in her palace, Blue Diamond was just getting the latest memo on Earth's current situation, in this case the Cluster. Much of the Crystal Gems or Ponies hadn't had time to exactly tell her, but this recent report to her from one of her court cohorts placed the diamond's mind at ease over that. Once that was taken care of, the court member went off on its way, leaving Blue Diamond alone with her Pearl for the time being. "That is wonderful news, isn't it my Diamond?" Blue Pearl asked, thinking that the news could make Blue diamond feel better, but Blue Diamond stayed oddly quiet. Blue Pearl could see that after a little bit. Blue Diamond eventually got up from her throne. Blue Diamond had a lot on her mind, and not just the Cluster either. Lapis was still gone, far as she knew, and the overwhelming fact about Pink Diamond still hung over her head like a raincloud. A diamond she was especially close to, gone for the longest time without her even knowing about it. After a little bit, the diamond started walking away from the throne room, Blue Pearl following in her step. The whole walk along the way was rather silent, Blue Diamond not having anything to really say to her Pearl. Eventually, Blue Diamond reached another room of the palace. "Pearl? I don't wish to be disturbed right now ..." "Understood, my Diamond," Blue Pearl said, bowing to her just before Blue Diamond went into the other room. Blue Pearl knew better than to disobey her own diamond on the matter, especially with her mind so troubled at the current moment. Blue Diamond quietly went into the room she had been going into, Blue Pearl having no other option but to just wait outside. What else could she do? As for Blue Diamond, she took the time to just sit there in the other room, looking out from the balcony she walked out to. Her eyes just stared off into the Homeworld sky, Pink Diamond and her death all she could truly think about. What could she have done to prevent this from happening? ....... *POOF* "Huh?" The odd sound was a bit curious for Blue Pearl, but Blue Diamond told Blue Pearl to remain put, and no one told her to enter. Hearing that particular sound though made Blue Pearl a little uneasy. "My Diamond?" Blue Pearl asked. However, there wasn't a sound to be heard after that other one. Blue Pearl may have had her instructions to stay outside, but the Gem had her own worries over her Diamond to handle as well, something more important than a simple order. Blue Pearl needed to gather her own courage to do so, taking a deep breath, before actually opening the door. Looking into the room, the Pearl stood there in complete shock and horror to what she saw next: just in the center of the room, there laid Blue Diamond's gemstone on the ground! It wasn't just that, but the gemstone also was cracked up to oblivion, threatening to shatter at any moment. Looking on the gemstone itself, Blue Pearl found what seemed to be a sort of calling card for someone to find: a pink rose. ... Blue Pearl turned and could only run off. She had to tell what she just witnessed. ~~~~~~ "Steven. H-How could you?" shuttered Peridot. "It had to be done, Peridot," replied Steven, oddly smiling at what diabolical act he just committed. The shock of what Steven just did was inexcusable, Peridot and Connie both shocked as ever at the very idea. Star sitting nearby raised her hand. "Excuse me? ..." "W-What is it?" ....... "Why are you acting so emotional over a visual activity with controllers?" asked Star Quartz, pointing to the television and fighting game they were playing. Guess this was what they were doing today, and Peridot was more than upset about it. Connie, Steven, and Peridot were playing it out, and by the sound of it, Steven just won over Peridot again. "I HAD IT! HE HAD TO FINISH ME OFF AGAIN!" Peridot complained, ready to throw the controller she was so upset. The old fashion rage quit, if they ever saw one. "I told ya, no one could beat me and my Mr. Croak!" Steven joked. Peridot groaned and tossed the controller in the air anyway, only for Connie to catch it before it could break. It was all Peridot could take, and she just went down from the stairs. Peridot sat down at the couch, where Garnet was sitting and waiting as well, casually chilling out and hearing the game going on. "Alright, it's just you and me. May the best player win," Steven said, shaking Connie's hand. "Let's do this," Connie said, as they both were starting up the next round. As both of them were going at it with eachother, Amethyst took some time to head over to them and check up on the game. "Hey, kiddos, enjoying your game?" asked Amethyst. "Yeah, thanks mom - OH, uh I mean -" "Too late!" Soon, after Connie's little slip on words, Amethyst went on her shapeshifting shenanigans, and soon enough Amethyst Priyanka was standing there. "I'M YA MAMA NOW!" Amethyst said. Those watching couldn't help but smile, Steven barely able to contain his laughter as Amethyst went right up to Connie. "Give mama some sugar!" Amethyst joked, trying to get a kiss out of Connie, Connie meanwhile laughing her head off. "No, Amethyst stop, this is weird! I-I can't breathe!" Connie managed to get out between her laughs. Steven couldn't help but snicker himself at the situation, Peridot too, and Garnet simply smiled. "It's nice to see everyone together again," Sapphire thought. "First time in a while, you bet!" Ruby thought back. Both sides had to agree, and Garnet simply watched the gems all get along. With how much they've gone through already, it was nice to see them actually play around and relax for the first time in months. Garnet felt pretty complete, though she still felt there was a few pieces missing in their puzzle. Two in fact. "Someone's coming over," Star suddenly said, looking out the window of their home. When the others took a look down the beach, their eyes soon spotted that someone was indeed coming their way, and coming fairly fast as well. A rather confusing sign, but not many of them even really took much notice of the newcomer all that much. Well, at least that was until this newcomer went and knocked on their door. "Can you get that, Star?" asked Peridot, who was still snickering over Amethyst's little problem. Star Quartz nodded and walked over to the door. Star looked over the newcomer for a little bit, noticing that she was oddly familiar to her, though only a little bit. And another detail, there was two Gems rather than one. Pearlis and Onyx! "Hello?" asked Star. "OK, you all are to come with me, any word will be used against you in -" Pearlis stopped what she was saying when she saw Amethyst still trying to get her sugar from Connie, though rather than being funny, it was more awkward. A rather odd pause stemmed between her and the other Gems for a moment. "... I'm not gonna ask," Pearlis simply said, Amethyst changing back. The moment Garnet saw them though, it made her a little bit troubled, especially considering who Onyx and Pearlis worked under. "You getting any?" Onyx teased, just to get whacked by Pearlis. "What is it you want?" Garnet asked, standing up. Pearlis cleared her throat. "On order of our most respected, unflawed, glorious, and most valued White Diamond herself, and by decision of her highest, most respected court of Homeworld. Due to suspicions and espionage against -" "You're all on trial!" Onyx suddenly said, cutting to the point. Pearlis cringed on Onyx's sudden jump in the scenario, but the second they all heard that, it got across pretty quickly. "What?!?!" Peridot asked, freaked out. "As Onyx bluntly stated, yes," Pearlis announced. The shock of the moment made him drop his controller to the ground. "For what? We didn't do anything," Steven insisted. "Tell it to the Diamond, clod," Onyx said, grabbing him from behind and starting to carry him to the door above her head. Garnet was the first to react, but rather than being level headed, she just grabbed Steven off of Onyx fast. Onyx kept her grip on him, but she lost it half way, launching her to the ceiling. It took Onyx a minute before she fell down from the ceiling to the floor. "Forceful?" "Sorry. I panicked," said Garnet, as Onyx picked herself up off the ground. Garnet needed a minute to get her act together on the matter, worried on the very mention of the idea. "What's a trial?" Star asked, scratching her head. "Really? Your brought to the diamonds and you talk about the case for a while, and you either get released or -" Onyx finished her statement with a slashing motion across her throat. "... You run your hand across your neck? That doesn't sound too bad." "With all due respect, I can guarantee you we're innocent," Garnet stated. "You can make your case with your designated Zircon once we get there. Or would you rather have your execution be made now?" Pearlis stated. That last option made most of them shiver, and with what they've gone through as it was, they didn't need to become apart of another fight, especially with White Diamond officials. "... Very well. ..." Garnet said, reluctantly. "Good. You and the rest of the Crystal Gems could come with us, and meet at Yellow Diamond's courtroom. I'm sure they'll be more than happy to see you," Pearlis said, though her tone was more of a salty remark than anything. With that decided, Pearlis turned and took her exit out the door Onyx following her for a little bit. Before Onyx left though, she turned around and did a little salute with her finger. "Diamond court," Onyx said, in a hushed yet cool tone, walking backwards out of the house before catching up with Pearlis. When they were gone, the rest felt pretty much troubled all the same, Garnet included. "Eh, Garnet, W-We're not really going to head to trial, are we?" Peridot asked, humbled and worried sick. Garnet adjusted her glasses. "Not much choice. Everything will be alright," Garnet reassured them. However, they really didn't have a choice on the matter. It was a long time, yes, but now it was time to return to Homeworld once again. Whether they want to or not. ~~~~~~ Later that day, and a group of Crystal Gems had managed to make it over to the Homeworld palace. Normally a walk like this wouldn't be too bad, though still a bit tense all the same, but now with the circumstances at hand it was even more so. Not every Crystal Gem was brought in though, despite a good margin: Jasper, Lapis, Flint, Jade, and Star being the only exceptions. Still, those who did end up coming along for the ride were left to really wonder what they did to deserve this as of recent events. As they went through Homeworld, the local residents treated them no different from previous visits. Guess they weren't aware of what was happening as of yet, or at least didn't want to get involved on the matter at hand. Besides, they were at Yellow Diamond's city rather than Blue Diamond's city so perhaps news there didn't reach over here yet. Regardless of either case, Pearlis and Onyx reached over to the main palace in little time, and the group were teleported inside. However, they weren't teleported straight to the throne room though, but instead they all were put in a rather open room. Each Crystal Gem that showed up didn't go in altogether, but each Gem ended up in a pair, and in a different room for the subject. For Steven, that meant sharing with Diopside, and the room they were in didn't have any sort of window, door, or anything. In fact, the floors, walls and ceiling almost matched eachother completely, and with little shadow to help with, they didn't feel like they were in any actual room. "Where are we?" Steven wondered. "I think we're in the palace somewhere," Diopside noted, trying to look around a bit. Her Gem eye focused a bit and tried to get some details in from the current situation. "Eh ... yep, in one of the palace guest rooms." "this is a guest room? There's not even a bed in here," Steven replied in disbelief. Diopside got to her senses and looked down to "Steven, that's the least of your problems! Please tell me you didn't do anything wrong!" "But I didn't. I beat Peridot in strong slam sisters, then Pearlis just shows up and says we're all arrest over ... something?" "Something? What something?" "She didn't say what it was," Steven admitted with a unsure shrug. How is he supposed to know what he supposedly did if no one told him what the actual problem was? Diopside wasn't so sure about what was going on, but she wasn't going to lose it on Steven because of it. "Well, just know that I'll support you one hundred percent. I know you're no bad guy," Diopside reassured him. And not a moment too soon: a sliding door opened up from not too far away, revealing another Gem had come in. Pearlis did mention that another type of Gem, a Zircon in exact details, was going to join in his discussion, though Diopside and Steven didn't recognize this one from their previous visits. Then again, they weren't on trial beforehand. This one was a human-sized Gem with a slim figure, indigo blue skin, eyelids of a darker blue, a long slim nose, and periwinkle-blue, crescent-pointed hair that resembles a surgical hood. Her uniform consisted of a pair of baby-blue pants, flats of the same blue color, a boxy, long sleeved baby-blue jacket with padded shoulders and darker blue trim along the bottom, and a pale blue cravat. She wore a monocle over her right eye, which can display multiple info screens. Her gem was located on her chest, where the knot of her tie would be. As with other Gems of Blue Diamond's court like Lapis, or Sapphire even, She maintains a rather looser style in her appearance. A rather odd statement though, since her behavior on the matter was far more on edge than usual. "I can't believe this. Four thousand years to loyal service to my Diamond's court, and this is what I get?!" the blue Zircon noted, as she was going through the reports, old and new, of her defending party. Guess someone wasn't all confident in this case, whatever it was. Their Zircon paused and turned over to Diopside and Steven. "You're ... Rose Quartz?" Zircon asked, obviously confused when comparing records. According to the picture she was portraying, it showed Steven's mother rather than Steven himself. "Eh ... sort of. I'm her son," Steven said. That made Zircon a little confused, though more in disbelief than anything. "A what?" "A son. It's this human thing on Earth when -" "Oh nevermind, I don't have time for it! We only have this short moment to prepare your case," Zircon suddenly said. If the question was going to jump into some story, Zircon couldn't risk it, especially when so close to the trial time. For Diopside and this whole scenario, she might as well get the next question out of the way. "What's this case even about?" Diopside asked. Zircon froze. "Wait. You don't even know?!" Zircon gasped, not believing her ears. "Pearlis and Onyx didn't explain it very well." "Why would they even need to?" Zircon asked, still in disbelief. If this was who she wads defending, she might have some trouble. "I don't know, look, what's even going on?" "What did you think was going to happen, Rose Quartz?! The second that door opens, you are gonna go on Trial!" Zircon made clear. And sure enough, that door did open up. ~~~~~~ So, here they go. Lead out to the field by their defending Zircon, the courtroom awaited them all. The Crystal Gems all were presented there, one way or another, over in the middle of the large courtroom they were brought to. The room appeared similar to the Yellow Diamond's throne room, the surface below being a lot bigger and symbolizing the Homeworld emblem which covered the entire floor. Glass walls covered up the entire room, showing a good view of space around them. Course, they needed such room for the other Gems there aside from the Crystal Gems present. Seating arrangement was in a similar manor to a Earth courtroom, though instead of a typical judge's seat, it was the trio of thrones, though for the moment, only two of the three chairs were present: Yellow Diamond and White Diamond in particular, with Blue Diamond not there for the third to appear. Other Gems toduely noted were also there: mainly those belonging to the royal courts of said Gems: White Diamond's court over by their respected diamond in their seats (Pearlis and Onyx being amongst them), with Yellow Diamond's court over in a similar pair of seats by her. Yellow Diamond's Pearl was also present with her Diamond, and only one of WD's Pearls was at attention too. Understanding too, there was more than one Zircon in this room: aside from the defense, there was a Yellow Zircon present too, this one presumably the prosecuting Gem of this court. The Crystal Gems got their own seats too, namely placed over to the front of the Diamond eyes and at the center of the room, with the main guilty party in particular being put right in the center where all triangles met. With the Diamonds, royal court, and guilty party all in place, there was nothing holding back for the group to begin. "The Homeworld Diamond court is now in session. Prosecution and Defense, are you both prepared?" White Diamond instructed. Yellow Zircon nodded confidently, but Blue Zircon was a little behind, yet nodded anyway. "Then let's begin. Prosecution, if you may begin." Despite White Diamond not being her Diamond in particular, Yellow Zircon went on to get the discussion started, clearing her throat while the others listened to the trouble at hand. The Pearls got out screens to record the event just before Yellow Zircon got started. "My Diamonds. My brilliant, opulent, radiant, glimmering -" ""My Diamond" will suffice, or we'll never get through this," Yellow diamond said, getting impatient. Yellow Zircon corrected herself on that regard and went on her talk. "O-Ok, ok. Now, as we're aware, the Crystal Gems had a rather unprecedented record amongst the Diamond authority in past years. While some may have guessed that the Diamonds and the Crystals are on more appropriate terms on recent events, their leader has done an act so uncalled for, one could only wonder "why?". Exhibit A!" When Yellow Zircon made that signal, 'exhibit A' came in the form of a screening picture: the pic in particular showing both Pink Diamond, and Blue Diamond, both Gems supposedly shattered on the screen! Pink Diamond's shattering was enough of a shocker for the royal court of YD, but Blue Diamond's shattering shocked many a person there. "WHOA, WHAT?" gasped Fulgurite. "Blue Diamond's shattered?!" added in Pearl. "I-It can't be!" gasped Garnet. "ORDER!" yelled White Diamond, her bellowing voice silencing their shock. They didn't need any overreactions of the crowd to stall the session further. "Two of our most respected leaders of our world. One. a prime and flawless diplomat of Homeworld, such a calming, and sympathetic mind set. The other: a valuable rarity of Diamondkind, such a successful start on her very first colony on Earth, and its moon. Now both gone! Now, one kind of Gem would throw such beings away from her life? I'll tell you: that kind!" Yellow Zircon accused, a finger aimed directly at Steven, making him gulp. Well, they know exactly what was what now, but that didn't help them any further, especially with a double killer case with this one! "One may wonder if this is truly the Rose Quartz that truly was involved in such a case. After all, one could see this creature and easily think "nothing more than a loud, hideous, and useless human being.". May I present the answer in the following way." All of a sudden, Yellow Zircon made a rather sudden move: a hand turned to a fist, and ready to hit Steven! Steven, almost instinctively, summons up his Gem shield to protect himself. It may have stopped Yellow Zircon from hurting Steven, but it did show that Steven was indeed the real Rose Quartz to many of the court members, White and Yellow. Steven looked to be sure, but soon realized his mistake. "Eh, oops." "A true Rose Quartz shield if I ever saw one. A normal human being of organic matter would never be able to summon up a weapon as prominently, and as effortlessly as this. Why else would a supposed "human" have the weapon of the rebellious arch enemy Rose Quartz?" Yellow Zircon said. Well, Steven didn't help the situation by his sudden reaction, if anything it had made it worse for them. "Keep it together, Steven," Bismuth encouraged, who was right next to him and trying to calm him down. "And would I even need to mention about Rose Quartz's track record? This is the very Gem responsible, and lead on the Gem War thousands of years ago, starting it all off with the untimely, and horrifying death of our beloved Pink Diamond. AND, as if shattering one diamond wasn't unprecedented enough, now she took the advantage of their alliance to grow just close enough to our holy Blue Diamond!" That last part got Fulgurite active. "Objection: she's drawing false conclusions!" Fulgurite accused. Yellow Zircon paused, and took offense to this. "I am not! And on that note, it's not even your turn to speak," Yellow Zircon insisted. Fulgurite was going to say something else, but worried they'll cause more trouble Peridot got her hands over Fulgurite's mouth. Last thing they needed was a heated argument in front of the Diamond. "As I was saying before I was interrupted, one could say that it was a possible jump, but with the situation, why wouldn't it be? She had the opportunity, the amount of freedom to do so, and all the time in the world to do so. And with the confirmed evidence, I can state that this is indeed Rose Quartz, and she indeed was put responsible to being the shatterer of our Diamonds. I rest my case." "She's good," Blue Zircon noted, which wasn't a good thing to hear for the guilty party, especially from their own defense Zircon. Blue Zircon had to get her game going with what she had on hand, since it would be her turn next. "That's good enough for me. Alright, time to execute," Yellow Diamond said, satisfied with the statement. White Diamond wasn't so forward. "No Yellow, the defense still needs to speak. Blue would want that, at least," White made clear, though that only made Yellow a bit more annoyed on that than most. White Diamond then turned to Blue Zircon for her statement. "Defense, you may proceed," White Diamond said. However, Blue Zircon didn't have anything together to proceed. They didn't exactly discuss anything, but as Blue Zircon tried to figure something out, she decided to work with what she got. So, after a bit, she went on to clear her throat and get this going. "Alright. W-Well, be that as it may, uh ... well ..." "Get on with it!" shouted Onyx. "Onyx," Pearlis said in a hush, slapping her to shut her up. Something looked over, sure, but that didn't help Zircon out. She didn't know what to say to her. ... she didn't know ... "There is one false piece here in relation to our 'criminal' intellect." "Oh? How so? It's clear she would know something," questioned Yellow Diamond. Zircon had the idea, hopefully it'll work well. "But that's just it: she doesn't. In fact, and take this as it stands, she and her group didn't even know why they were even here before the matter was brought up. She wasn't aware of either assaults, never mentioned either factor during our meeting. How could one commit an act they don't even know about?" Blue Zircon pointed out, which made a bit of sense, and something Zircon got out pretty well. "Good recovery," whispered Emerald to Pearl, who couldn't help but agree on it. A rather interesting point to make as well. Yellow Diamond was just getting impatient about the whole thing, and it was rather evident by her dropping fingers on the armrest of her seat, White Diamond taking this into account fairly well. Still, there was plenty more to confirm on about. "Interesting. ... Prosecution, response?" "We're all aware of Rose Quartz's deception during the war. Take this as a theory of mine, but perhaps it was nothing more than a ruse to keep what innocence she has left. Why wouldn't the leader of the Crystal Gems lie in order to keep what's hers alive and well?" Yellow Zircon hypothesized. Fulgurite wanted to point it out again, but Peridot wasn't getting her speak again, at least not until this was over. Blue Zircon grew nervous again, her only true means of defense dashed by a theorized possibility. Now what is she supposed to say in response to this in their defense? "... W-Well, she didn't appear to be a liar during our conversation. ... most of her responses seemed ... legitimate?" Not a good showing. Not a good one at all. And this only got Fulgurite to finally toss Peridot off of her so she could speak. "Hold it! Don't we have a say in this?!" Fulgurite yelled, making sure her voice was heard. Yellow was going to get up, but White's raise of her arm got her to stay still, albeit upset herself on the outburst. "Well, go on then. ... What is it you have to say?" "Aha, yeah ok first off: another objection for false conclusions for Yellow Zircon over there," Fulgurite said, though this time Yellow Zircon didn't have time to respond. "And secondly, are you all forgetting that we were the ones who saved your planet from Osicone?! You wouldn't have a Homeworld if they never showed up!" "SILENCE!" White Diamond bellowed, her voice almost shaking the room (metaphorically anyway). "Fulgurite, that is completely unrelated to the incident this court is under. You can't used unrelated matters like that as evidence to support you," White Diamond made clear. "What?! Come on, I can!" "EH, actually you can't," said Pearl. That didn't help either, but it was true all the same. That got Fulgurite to quiet down, arms crossed. "Well, you're helpful," grumbled Fulgurite. Blue Zircon tried to think of something, but when she saw Pearl, she got an idea. "What about the chief witness?" Zircon suddenly asked. "And who might that be?" "Blue Diamond's Pearl!" Now things were getting interesting. Yes, a chief witness had to be called on, if any witness, and so far Blue Zircon had that advantage over the matter of Yellow Zircon and her statements. Thinking it over, and looking around for some, Blue Pearl actually wasn't there, and who would know better on the actual incident than the Blue Diamond side of the case. "She's just a Pearl, Zircon," noted Yellow Diamond. "True, but all the same, all witnesses must be addressed. The defense calls Blue Pearl to the stand!" Blue Zircon announced, feeling confident that she had the upper-hand over the prosecution. White Diamond nodded down to one of her pearls, and one of them activated a sort of door, Blue Pearl appearing moments laterand walking over to the stand. The Pearl, while keeping quiet as usual, looking a bit frazzled and still troubled over the incident as a whole. It was her Diamond, after all. Anyway, Blue Pearl stood in her stand, and it wasn't long until White Diamond spoke again. "Pearl. Do you promise to this court you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" "I do," Blue Pearl said quietly, well aware of the court system going on here. With a nod of her head, the Diamonds signaled the defending Zircon to begin her questions. "Blue Pearl, as the Pearl who was closest to our beloved Blue Diamond, care to explain in detail what occurred before the discovery of her rather ... untimely demise," Blue Zircon asked. The last part indeed made Blue Pearl tremble a little, shocked still that it happened, well, at all. Still, being true to her word like any Pearl would, she went on to speak anyway, as the Pearls took note in their records. "Well ... me and My Diamond, earlier today, were receiving our series of reports from our court members. I stood alongside her, and we both heard about eight precise reports, the final one ... being about earth. ... She looked so depressed. ... She and I then went to her private balcony, but she ... told me to wait outside, and make sure no one disturbed her. ... And then I heard a noise from inside. I-I know I'm supposed to follow orders, but ... I looked inside, and then ... then ..." Blue Pearl couldn't even finish it, but they all knew where she was going with it. Blue Pearl quietly started to cry, tears coming down her face as she remembered the details of what happened next. "Thank you, no further questions," Blue Zircon said. Blue Pearl slowly walked away to the side, away from the stand and over to her exit. This take on the event didn't have it sound like a murder, but something far more personal. Something even White Diamond took some trouble over. Blue Zircon was hoping for some concrete evidence on the matter from Blue Diamond's Pearl, but it was as vague as any other report would be. "Poor Pearl," said Diopside. "AND poor Blue diamond, they're both in the rut right now," Emerald added. The Diamonds both had a sort of reaction to such a view on the matter, considering it was their only actual view of the incident they actually had. "Prosecution, do you have any witnesses to call upon?" White Diamond asked, trying to keep her composure. Blue Zircon, for the first time in this session gave a bit of confidence towards Yellow Zircon, who notably didn't have much of anything when it came to prosecuting side. All Yellow Zircon did was shook her head. Score one for the defensive side. As White Diamond was thinking, Yellow Diamond got more impatient with the situation. "Can't we just execute her and get it over with?" Yellow asked. "... Rose. Step forward," White Diamond instructed. Steven gulped, and took a step forward. Suddenly, a platform was raised up, worrying the Crystal Gems a bit. Soon, Steven was up on the level of the Diamonds, and White Diamond stepped forward, staring Steven down. "All records are hold and say of your act against Pink Diamond, marking her untimely death. ... Explain?" "Huh?" "How did you shatter her?" What? Seemed they were shifting to the Pink Diamond situation, but Steven wasn't even aware of this thing until White Diamond herself said so. Much of those in the court were a little perplexed on it, though they didn't try to say much of anything. Steven was on his own, and in front of the most intimidating Gem there was, asking him a question he barely knew much of himself. "Ok, Steven, calm down. just calm down, everything will be alright." Steven thought to himself, but White Diamond's intimidation wasn't making it easy for him. He had to say something, or they'll all be in trouble. "Um...well. I did it on Earth, in front of Pink Diamond's palanquin. I was probably like, "Stop!" and she was all like "No!" So we fought-I think. And she probably did some cool moves. I probably did some cool moves too, some jump kicks and stuff. But I was most likely deeply conflicted about deciding to shatter her. Definitely crying. I probably had to use the Breaking Point to do it. ..." "What's he doing?!" Amethyst quietly asked, panicked. Steven had to give her something, and since she was the solo Diamond to even know about such things, why lie to her about it? Suddenly though, and surprisingly, White Diamond started to cry. ... "A sword. ... You shattered her with a sword!" All of a sudden, White Diamond was sobbing up a storm, a flurry of emotions coming up from her own reminder. Yellow diamond went over to her, trying her best to comfort her, though she was surprised Pink Diamond's death would affect her this deeply. Yellow's own glare seemed to make Steven feel worse about it. "That's quite enough testimony from you! We shall take a short recess." And a short recess they did. ...... "I swear, how could this happen?" Back on Earth, things weren't going any better. Flint, Jade, and Star Quartz all remained back at the barn, all unable to go in still since it was basically frozen at this point. With the Crystal Gems all in custody, it kinda left Flint in a bit of a tizzy. Just when he thought everything was handled with the whole Cluster incident, and suddenly they got stuck with White Diamond again. "They did say something about that ... right?" Star asked. "YES, they did, but I was hoping they weren't telling the truth. White Diamond's going to slaughter them," Flint said, thinking the worst about the situation. Jade got up from her seat, and walked over to him, looking up to Flint. "Flint? ..." "DON'T. SAY IT," Flint made clear. "But Flint, they need help," Jade said. This was what Flint felt most conflicted about. One hand included White Diamond herself and the other concerned the Crystal Gems. He stayed silent for a minute. "... But I swore never to go back." "I know, but you were on your own before. That isn't the case anymore, Flint," Jade pointed out, which was true. Somehow they're involvement convinced him to return to White Diamond, despite his promise, and now they were stuck with her again. His heart felt torn. ... "And what do you think will happen if I do go?" "What will happen if you don't?" Star suddenly asked, out of nowhere. She didn't mean to sound so convincing, a lot more legitimate in her question than metaphorical, but it still had the same effect on Flint. So, without another word, Flint walked off out of sight over on the side of the barn, heading in the direction to the Warp Pad. ... "Uh ... did I say the wrong thing?" Star asked. "No, you didn't," Jade said. ~~~~~~ "WHAT WAS THAT?! 'maybe' this, 'probably' that, what're you trying to do?!" Zircon asked. AND they did needed to figure something out. During the recess, the group got together with their Zircon to get together their act, but Steven's little speech on what could've happened with Pink Diamond did not help at all. They met up in the same room they arrived in, and judging by the voices things weren't going too well. "Nevermind that, why'd you even say it?! Steven, we're trying to prove innocent, not get crushed!" Fulgurite added. "I don't know! White Diamond, she intimidated me, ok?" Steven said, though he was just as troubled about it as the others were. He didn't know himself why he rambled on about it if he never saw it, and getting yelled at for it didn't help him either. "Don't tumble my rocks! ALL our Gems are on the line here," Zircon made clear, yelling right in Steven's face. That response got Bismuth to intervene, her hand in between Zircon and Steven before a fight could break out or something. "That is enough out of you!" Bismuth demanded, moving Zircon aside. She and Diopside went over to Steven to try and calm him down, Garnet going over to Zircon to help her up. Steven still saw the writing on the wall, and felt guilty for even listening to White Diamond. "Ok, Steven, calm down, it's not your fault. Y-You're just following what she said, that's all, h-how were any of us supposed to know what she'll ask?" Diopside said, trying to keep her nerves together same as Steven. Fulgurite though was still fuming about the situation. "Why even bother, this whole court's rigged! Fake conclusions, trick questions, White Diamond's just trying to throw us in the grinder," Fulgurite confirmed, Zircon making a dramatic gasp. "How dare you say that about White Diamond?! She may make some ... interesting choices now and then, but she will not defy the law just to do what she pleases!" Zircon insisted. "I'm not apart of Homeworld, I can say whatever I want!" retorted Fulgurite, that statement coming out of pure anger on the situation and nothing else. Zircon and Fulgurite both looked ready to duke it out in their anger, but Garnet silenced the entire room with a loud, single note whistle. It was loud enough to get everyone to quiet down, if not get ringing in their ears. At least the arguing all stopped so they all could think a little more clearly about the subject at hand. "Now that is enough. Arguing with eachother is not going to solve anything," Garnet made clear, her voice reaching everyone there. "Ugh, well did she really do it, or not?" Zircon asked, pointing to Steven. "Ok, first of all that's a "he", not a "she". Secondly, nope," Amethyst finally got in. "Thank you, you beat me to it," Emerald commented. However, Zircon looked a little more perplexed about it, looking Steven over from top to bottom with her gaze. "Really," Zircon said. "It's a long story ..." Steven said, probably the best answer he could come up with. Zircon still wasn't sure about it, taking a step forward. But, before she could do anything, Pearl got out her spear and got it between both her and Steven. "Don't you dare." "What? No, I wasn't going to do that, I swear!" Zircon corrected, rather quickly too. Even for a Pearl, she was a bit scary when she needed to be, and Zircon was not up for a fight with her. Pearl moved aside, and Zircon kneeled down to Steven, her hand reaching out and placing it on Steven's chest. It took Zircon a little bit, but the Gem started to feel Steven's heart beating up a storm, adrenaline up high over the yelling earlier. Zircon kept her hand there for a little bit, making sure it wasn't tricking her, before standing up straight, looking down at Steven with some astonishment. A heartbeat proved Steven's humanity aspect of him, and the Gemstone and its powers proved his existing Gem side. "... A ... hybrid? ... Did you get involved with White Diamond before, Rose?" "It's Steven, and -" Steven quickly stopped himself. He already blabbered on and got themselves into trouble, if he went on about that, it'll only make things worse for them. Garnet stepped over, placing a hand on Steven's shoulder to calm him. "Yes, we were. He wasn't an experiment though," Garnet made clear. While it removed Zircon's previous hypothesis, it still left her very confused, looking at Steven like he had lobsters coming out of his ears or something. "But, her stone." "Heritage thing, Zircon. He's her son." "A sun is a star, not a Gem," Zircon corrected. "No, not that sun. It's son, spelled S-O-N: like offspring, or young, or kid. It's like a human pebble," Amethyst said, thinking the right words for it. Zircon took another look at Steven. "So ... Rose - er. Steven, is half human, half Gem?" "Yeah, pretty much," Emerald said. So, that was it huh? A hybrid, not Rose Quartz herself (not exactly anyway). Zircon needed to get this information down pact for when the recess was over and finished. This could prove useful for the case at hand. After that, Garnet went over tot he wall, and leaned over against it. "... Looks like we have a guest." A guest? What guest? Before any of them could ask, Garnet knocked on the wall, and sure enough someone opened the door on the otherside. Talk about accurate future vision! This Gem wasn't one of the court members coming to fetch them, no, but he still looked ready to go. Instead of his usual outfit of a knight, he had the exact same outfit as Zircon, though his was gray rather than blue. "Flint! What're you doing here? I thought you wanted to stay back," Diopside said, happy to see him all the same. Flint was surprised he was still here himself, but his friends needed him as far as he knew, and by the looks of it, that was about right. Flint just sighed. "I changed my mind. Now, catch me up on this case, will you guys?" Flint asked, adjusting his collar, and ready as ever. It took a bit, but Pearl got to it. "The Diamonds are blaming Steven for Pink and Blue Diamond's shattering, and so far it's leaning towards ... neither. Their Zircon supported her case by proving Steven is Rose, while our Zircon proved Steven doesn't know a thing about it, including Blue Pearl as a witness," Pearl explained. He looked a little surprised on Blue Diamond being shattered, but he had a case to handle, though he could see Garnet recoil a little on the mention of it. "And you're still in trouble, huh? ... Did anyone bring up the actual crime scene yet?" Flint asked, after some thought. Now that they thought about it, none of them actually did bring up the crime scene itself during the first session, and Flint immediately got an idea on the matter with a nod of the head. Flint looked over to Garnet, silently asking Garnet the situation, and Garnet's main reply to that was a nod of her head too. ....... Next thing they knew, Flint immediately got to work. Zircon was by his side on permission, and Blue Pearl was found during the walk as a sort of guide. Flint hadn't been at Homeworld for a very long time, and as such his layout was pretty hazy, so it was a good thing Blue Pearl was willing to comply about it. After a little walk, Blue Pearl got Zircon and Flint over to the same room where Blue Pearl last saw her Diamond alive and breathing. "This is where it happened. ..." Blue Pearl said, standing over next to the door. With a nod, Flint went right on in, much to Zircon's surprise. "W-Wait, don't just walk in, this is Blue Diamond's personal quarters," Zircon insisted. "Exactly, and if the attack indeed happened here, it'll hold the best evidence to support the case. Now let's have a look around, we got five minutes before the recess is over," Flint instructed, already starting to look around the room. Zircon saw the logic behind it, and sure enough both Gems started to investigate the place. Without Blue Diamond, the room was exceptionally large and empty, the main resting platform especially large, and the balcony just as much. Blue Pearl just stood over by the door, watching them look around her room for any sort of clue to the case. As they were looking around the large room, it was actually Zircon who discovered a little something over at the balcony, where Blue Diamond stood. "What'd you find, Zircon?" Flint asked, seeing Zircon kneel down and pick up the object. The object was about as large as a plate, thin as cardboard but it glistened in the light a little bit, in a sort of circular shape, though a little sloppy in accuracy as if it was crudely cut. Both Zircon and Flint examined the piece, Blue Pearl quietly coming over. "What is this? It doesn't feel like a part of a Gemstone at all, almost rugged," Zircon analyzed. "Clearly not from Blue Diamond at all. ... Or any human, for that matter," noted Flint, holding the object in his hand as well. What would something like this even be doing here? Flint went out on the balcony a bit further, and looked around a bit, starting to work out his hypothesis on the situation. It took him a minute or two, but eventually he managed to get it. "Pearl, did you mention anyone coming by the room, or anyone going in with her?" "... N-No." "OK, I think I got it then: Blue diamond was apparently attacked out on the balcony here," Flint started, standing in the exact spot where Blue Pearl saw the gemstone. Zircon took each word Flint said into consideration as he continued. "So, looking out here, I can tell almost immediately that Steven couldn't be able to do it even if he wanted to: we're far too high up for a proper approach from the ground up, and according to her Pearl, he didn't invite himself into the palace at any point. I think we can reach one of two conclusions: the attacker could fly, or was already in the room beforehand, both things impossible for Steven," Flint explained. A surprising conclusion over just a simple piece of evidence and a little look around the room, but Zircon was more than impressed. "Oh ... my ... THAT'S GENIUS!" Zircon said, amazed. Flint was a bit surprised over the reaction, but kept that to himself. "Pearl, think you can find someone to analyze this for me?" Flint asked. Blue Pearl nodded, taking the object, and going off on her way, leaving Zircon and Flint to step out of the room. "How on earth did you figure that out over just one piece of evidence?" asked Zircon. She just HAD to figure it out. "What? It looked obvious, really," Flint shrugged. Zircon wasn't sure if it was an insult or a statement, but didn't go further on that. Still, this was a good thing to discover for both cases at hand. Before they could take another step though, someone else was catching up with them: Onyx. "What's taking you so long?! Court's waiting on you, and they're getting testy," Onyx warned. Well, no time for an extra plan, they got a case to handle. ~~~~~~ "What's taking her?" Yellow Diamond growled. The tension being built up within the court room was not being let up much better either. With Onyx gone, and Zircon still absent, they had to keep everything on hold until they would come back, therefore elongating the recess. A number of the Gems within the room were trying to get their patience together, but some were a bit more troubled about it than others. "Easy, Yellow. Getting worked up isn't going to make this go any faster," White advised, though she wasn't too thrilled by the wait either. The Crystal Gems didn't seem very thrilled with it much themselves, though the longer they waited, the more likely they'll just be slammed with a sentence before anymore proper evidence could come out. "Where are they? Does he know our lives are on the line here?" Amethyst wondered while pacing. "There's no way he'll just ditch us, just give him a minute," Diopside insisted. "We won't even need that much time. Here they come," Garnet said, and this time she didn't even need her future vision to tell her that. The entrance to the courtroom opened, and the missing Gems finally showed up, Onyx heading back to the court while Zircon went over next to the Crystal Gems. "Zircon, you're late. What kept you?" White growled. However, Zircon just looked back, and soon their new defensive Gem Flint moved in for all to see. The Crystal Gems may feel a bit better on seeing him, the gray Gem adjusting himself as he went to center stage, but the Homeworld Gems were mainly confused on him showing up. White Diamond stayed silent when Flint appeared, locking her gaze to him, and Flint doing the same to her. "... And what do you call this?" Yellow asked. "A extra attorney, that's what. Consider me as a substitute Zircon," Flint said, business-like towards the highest Diamond. "Under who's orders?" Yellow asked sternly. "Alright, then a surprise witness then. I believe I got information for us to proceed. Is it wrong for adding evidence to one's case?" Flint asked. White saw his point, and calmed down Yellow Diamond a little bit. White Diamond looked over to both Flint and Blue Zircon, back and forth a bit before she just nodded her head. If it was anything like earlier, they shouldn't have too much trouble. White Diamond gave them the signal with a motion of her hand for both to continue, interested to see what they had in mind this time. Blue Zircon and Flint looked to eachother, silently agreeing to the terms, and both went forward. Blue Zircon went first. "Now then. As we all understand, shattering Pink Diamond would've given "Rose Quartz" all the gain she could ever need in her goal, And one could argue that Rose's act of shattering Blue Diamond would be another step as well to secure it. She wanted to, yes ... but the question though isn't of 'would she', but a matter of 'could she?'." "Could she?" Pearlis silently repeated. Flint and Blue Zircon went forward a little bit, Blue Zircon took of her signature monocle, her monocle glowing a bit, and then started to project a large enough light for the whole court to see. At first, it didn't entirely show much of anything, just a light blue screen, but then Flint pulled something out of his outfit pocket as his next piece of evidence, and slid it over Zircon's monocle, showing the picture up for everyone to see. The picture showed Steven, and Peridot playing their game from earlier, this point both of them busily trying to beat the level. This was probably the most confusing moment of the case. "How'd he get a picture of that?" whispered Steven. "That's what I want to know," whispered back Peridot. Both Yellow Diamond and White Diamond saw this with a bit of confusion ... ok, a lot of confusion. Still, Blue Zircon and Flint knew what they were doing, and it was Flint's turn to talk, the Gem clearing his throat. "Now, I know what you're thinking: what does this have anything to do with the case? Not an inch of evidence seems to be located within this seemingly innocent picture. however ..." With a signal of his finger, Blue Zircon altered the projection to zoom in on the time set in the picture, giving them all more attention to that over the actual picture itself, time itself reading about eight in the morning (the game tournament was an early one). "Now, according to Blue Diamond's Pearl, the apparent assassination of your beloved Diamond was taken place earlier this morning. However, take a good look over at the time of this photograph," Flint said, keeping the photo up long enough for them to imprint it in their heads. "Ok, but what does this have to -" to the court surprise, Flint interrupted the Diamond with a snap of his finger. Worried on his boldness regardless of the case, Blue Zircon then brought out another photo ... this time with Steven asleep, and a Pearl watching over him. ... "I thought you'd stop doing that," Steven said. All Pearl did was fluster up in embarrassment, not sure how a picture was taken of that. How embarrassing to have it shown to the entire court, and as before, this one was also timed: seven thirty in the morning. Surprisingly small gap between sleeping in the bed to doing a game tournament. It didn't help that they could hear some snickering from a few other Gems from the courts either. Flint also focused it on this time as well. "Now take note of this time frame. Just a mere half an hour Earth time between then, and now. And as we can see, your quartz seems a bit ...exhausted." "Objection: this has nothing to do with the case! false evidence!" Yellow Zircon suddenly shouted. Fulgurite looked ready to clock her, but Garnet shook her head and kept her quiet, focusing on the actual thing going on. "Does it now?" Flint questioned. Then Flint started to present his own projection images from his own gemstone, this time showing both maps of Beach City, and one of Blue Diamond's City Homeworld, taking note of the length between Steven's house and Homeworld. "The estimated time between going from the Gem temple here, all the way to the Homeworld Warp pad is about a half an hour. And even then, comparing time between going from the Warp Pad to Blue Diamond's palace here, it adds a half an hour to it all, not to mention the additional time of proper notification, additional talk time, AND the time spent to even reach said room. That's well over two hours to get there, and back. Now, I ask you: how in the name of the stars can a Gem do all of that within just a half an hour timespan? Literally impossible for a client like him to actually accomplish." The valid points were especially made in the regard, Blue Zircon and Flint removing their projections and allowing them all to take in what they got. With these two simple photos, both of which seemed completely unrelated to eachother, managed to put an extremely huge hole in the Blue Diamond case. And even more so? Flint was not done yet. "Exhibit 2." "All of that was one?!" Pearlis gasped. Even she couldn't believe it. All of that, and he wasn't done yet?! The other court members looked to Pearlis, the Gem hybrid quietly sinking in her seat from the peering eyes, as Flint presented the object found at the crime scene, presenting it to both Diamonds as Blue Zircon continued. "We've took the time to actually investigate the scene of the crime during the recess provided, and during said search, we've discovered this foreign object suspiciously near where Blue Diamond had fell. After some analysis, we can also confirm this is not a inorganic piece of Blue Diamond, despite the obvious resemblance to a Diamond shard. An organic origin, a sort of hardened skin texture. We can all agree this couldn't be from our suspect, can we not?" Blue Zircon explained, the suspect referring to Steven himself. Seeing Steven, and the object itself, they all saw her point. "Diamonds, I request Blue Diamond's gemstone and palanquin for the upcoming points to the cases," Flint requested. "What?! Is that even needed?" Yellow asked. Sure they had their points, but Yellow Diamond found this simply pointless. Still, White Diamond snapped her fingers, and one of the Pearls activated a nearby teleporter to bring in the items requested. The gemstone, punctured and split up on three pieces, laid inside the palanquin since they both were presented at one time. Both Zircon and Flint nodded and moved over to the Palanquin in questioned, Flint actually taking one part of the gemstone out with him. "Put that back!" Yellow demanded, standing up at this point, but Flint just ignored her and continued with his case. "OK, now. You say this is indeed the true remains of Blue Diamond's once lively gemstone, an I correct to say?" "Naturally," said White. "But is it truly though? Zircon, care to do the honors?" "If you want," Zircon said, walking over to him. Soon, another object to test this theory out was brought over: two glasses of water. An odd sort of detail, but Zircon went on with his plan anyway. This was the part she was most unsure about, but Flint seemed firm about it, confident too. Anyway, Zircon gave him one of the waters, and Flint brought out the organic object he presented earlier. Both appeared to be extremely similar, but then Flint went on ahead and poured water on the foreign object. Looking closely, the Diamonds saw that the foreign object wasn't actually blue, but instead grey, blue paint dripping off along with the water in a smooth glean. This time, Flint didn't need to say anything for Zircon to do her part: and while she didn't have a clue either, she too poured the water on what they all thought was Blue Diamond's stone. ... The paint was removed off of that too, and showed the exact same glean as Flint's object. That wasn't Blue Diamond! The Crystal Gems, courts, even the Zircons and Diamonds were surprised by this ultimate revelation. Though the only ones that weren't as visually surprised were White Diamond and Flint. "So ... the Gem wasn't Blue Diamond after all. ..." White simply stated. "Seems so. With that, I rest my case," Flint finished. All that evidence, and now this ultimate revelation to basically the whole court that Blue Diamond wasn't even there was a rather bittersweet moment. Yeah, she could still be alive, but now she wasn't even there to be sure. White Diamond needed to make a deep decision about this. ... "... Alright then. ... We can indeed agree, that the Crystal Gems were not responsible for this morning's capture of Blue Diamond. There's no denying that." "Woo!" some of the Crystal Gems cheered. Guess they were off the hook. "But that still doesn't discount your case with Pink Diamond!" White Diamond corrected. "Awww ..." "... But, that's a matter for another day." The Crystal Gems were unsure of that, but they found it was the best they'll get. Yellow Diamond would complain, but the revelation that Blue Diamond was missing over being dead was still trying to process through her head, the Gem staring over at the fake diamond. "Prosecution, how do you respond to this?" White asked. However, Yellow Zircon was really drawing a blank on this. How could she make any sort of comeback to Flint and Blue Zircon's counterargument? All she did was shake her head, much to Yellow's dismay. "In that case, with the absence of further evidence, the judge shall pronounce sentence," Yellow Diamond sighed. White Diamond nodded in agreement. "Agreed. The sentence of this court. ..." "Come on White. Jail time, maintenance, execution, anything but letting them off easy," Yellow Diamond thought, almost pleading even. The Crystal Gems had their fingers crossed for the exact opposite of Yellow Diamond's hope. White Diamond paused, and looked to the fake diamond in their midst before she made her conclusion, giving a smile to them. ... "Banishment. None of you are to consort within Homeworld boundaries for any reason, and whichever of you is found within the limits of the Diamond cities shall be placed for harvesting on sight." ... Not as bad as they expected it to. "Huh. Well, ok then." "What?" "Meeting adjourned." Signal for the entire group to head off on their way. Well, that was surely a rather fair punishment for their case, a bit more fair than Yellow Diamond would like. Still, what could she say with White Diamond standing right there, especially after the sentence being passed. Anyway, the Crystal Gems took their leave, along with the court members of both Diamonds. Yellow Diamond just left on her way, and after a little more it was just White Diamond and Flint, Flint waiting until the rest of the Crystal Gems left before starting to go himself. "As I would expect from my dear hybrid," White simply said. Flint paused for a moment or two, but he just sighed and walked out. ...