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It was a normal day. Gems were patrolling, Sensei was resting and Phos was lying on the grass napping.
But then the Lunarians came. Morga and Goshe wanted to prove their worth by fighting them. Phos wasn’t so sure and wanted to call Sensei.
Unfortunately, they didn’t even had time to get up as an arrow immediately pierced their torso, easily breaking them.
Goshe called out for them while Morga seemed to have lost their bravado for a second. Then they turned to the vessel and started fighting them.
They would be noticed only much later when both Gems were lying on the ground broken and the Lunarians would collect their prize. When the scouts and Sensei arrived, they were already gone.
And Phosphophyllite, Morganite and Goshenite were lost that day.
They couldn’t move as the Lunarians arrived on the Moon.
They couldn’t close their eyes as a blinding white assaulted their sight.
They couldn’t gasp as the Lunarians became energetic and cheerful.
They couldn’t speak as their broken bodies were put in a bowl.
But they were conscious to see it all happen.
They were brought before an imposing entity, much different from the others. They called him ‘prince’.
The prince looked at them carefully. The Gems stared at him with wide, unblinking eyes. When his eyes fell on Phos, he sighed. Like he was disappointed. After five minutes of silence, he spoke.
“Throw them in the grinder”.
They were brought away, in a room with a strange construction in it. And the Lunarians who carried them carelessly threw them inside it. All three could only stare ahead as their bodies were slowly getting destroyed.
As their heads were about to be grinded, they looked at the Lunarians, staring at them in the eyes.
Their gazes didn’t have anger, surprise or any other emotion in it. Only emptiness. The Lunarians felt uncomfortable under their stares and they didn’t feel relieved not even when the Gems’ heads were finally grinded. The dusts were then scattered all over the moon.
But even after that, the Gems didn’t fall unconscious. They felt as they were thrown around, over the dusts of the Gems who were previously caught by the Lunarians.
They couldn’t move. They couldn’t speak. They couldn’t see.
But they were conscious. They understood what was happening. But they couldn’t do anything about it.
Phos wanted to scream and so they screamed. But the Lunarians couldn’t hear them.
But someone else did.
“New ones?”.
If Phos could blink, they’d do so.
“Who are you?”.
“Who are you?”.
That was Morga. Phos couldn’t understand.
“Sorry, I’m Green Diamond. But everyone calls me Green”.
Green Diamond? Phos heard of them from Yellow. They were one of their partners before they were taken to the Moon.
“Green? You’re Yellow’s former partner?”.
That was Goshe. Phos felt even more confused.
“That I was. How are they?”.
“As self-deprecating as ever”.
“Really? They weren’t like that when I was paired with them”.
“I guess they changed with the years”.
“Hey, Green. Who are you talking to?”.
It was another voice. Different from Green’s.
“The new guys. What were your names again?”.
“Morganite. The grey one is Goshenite and the mint one is Phosphophyllite”.
“Not like it matters. We can’t see anything”.
Phos never felt as lost as now.
“I’m Emerald by the way”.
“Hmm? Was there a Gem named Emerald?”.
“I exist. So yeah, there is”.
“I like you already”.
It seemed Emerald and Morga were already friends.
“Hey, Phos, you still haven’t said anything”.
“What do you want me to say?”.
“That’s a starter”.
Phos didn’t even realize they spoke.
“How can we talk? We’re dust, aren’t we?”.
“We are. But it seems we can talk with each other. But Lunarians can’t hear us”.
“Hey, hold on, I heard that voice before”.
Another voice was heard. Phos found it familiar but they can’t put their finger on it. Morga however recognized it.
“Wait, wait, wait. Heliodor, is that you?”
Ah, right. Phos finally remembered. The voice was Heliodor’s.
“Morganite? It is you! So you ended up here too, huh?”.
“Yeah. Got broken, then grinded along Goshe and Phos. It really sucks”.
“It does. Phos and Goshe are here too, you said?”.
“We are. Hi, Heli”.
“Goshe! It’s been two hundred years since we last spoke”.
“Yeah. Never thought I’d be speaking with you like this”.
Phos tried to ask the same question he asked before.
“How can we speak to each other, anyway?”.
It was Green who answered.
“No idea. Maybe it’s a collective consciousness of sort. But it seems we can only talk. We can’t move, see or anything else. Doesn’t it make you want to scream?”.
“I already did”.
“Wait, that was you?”.
A new voice once again.
“Yes. Who’s speaking?”.
“I’m Topaz. I don’t think we've ever met”.
“Don’t think so. I was born only three hundreds years ago”.
“You’re so young. It’s almost creepy how Lunarians are so willing to grind even such young Gems”.
“Almost? It’s creepy and much, much more!” said Heli.
It was surreal. They were dust. Yet they were speaking with each other like it was a normal day.
Either they have nerves of steel or their minds broke and they are coping.
“Does everyone know why are we grinded anyway?”.
From the reaction it gathered, it was obvious Phos didn’t ask an exactly good question. There was groaning around them. They could also hear several Gems stuttering. In the end, another Gem answered.
“They decorate the Moon with our dust. It’s something about convincing Sensei to pray or whatever. Or at least that’s what the Lunarians say. The prince sometimes says different things but they are so incomprehensible that we don’t even try to understand”.
“And you are?”.
“Blue Zoisite. I was Peridot’s partner”.
“They never mentioned you”.
“Well, Peridot is not one who likes to talk about it”.
It seems Goshe knew Peridot better than Phos at least.
“So now what?”.
“We stay here waiting. Unable to move. Unable to die. Unable to do anything but talk to each other”.
And with Green’s matter of fact answer, most fell into chatter.
Suddenly, Phos wanted to scream again.
“Hey, Green. Is there any other diamond here other than you?”.
Phos found out the only thing that kept them from completely going insane was talking to their grinded siblings. Considering that was also the literally one thing they can do.
“There is. The first Gem ever created was a diamond. Red!”.
“Oh? Did someone call me?”.
It was a friendly and gentle tone. It was similar to Dia’s.
“Yeah, Phos wanted to know of you”.
“Do you? Is there something you want to ask?”.
“Green said you were the first Gem that was born right?”.
“That I am, yes”.
“So how old are you?”.
“I should be around 5000 years old”.
Other than Phos, there were a lot of Gems who gasped at Red’s age being revealed.
“Seriously?”.
“You’re that old?”.
“Does that mean that Sensei is even older?”.
Among all the questions, Phos could hear Red’s voice above them.
“Sorry, not many knew of my actual age”.
“They never asked?”.
“Not really. Weird, isn’t it?”.
Before Phos could say anything else, Morga’s voice could be heard.
“Hey, Red. How was Sensei back then?”.
“Hmm? He was very kind and patient. He almost never got angry. He taught me everything from this world and cared for us a lot”.
“Yeah, sounds like our Sensei”.
Green spoke up.
“I remember he got really angry when you were taken Red”.
“You told me. You said he almost destroyed the entire school?”.
“Yeah. I hardly remember how we managed to calm him down. He looked furious”.
Now that didn’t sound like Sensei. Phos figured he must have been really furious when someone he loved was taken from him. They wondered if Sensei was as angry as then because they, Morga and Goshe were taken.
But the only way for them to know was if another Gem was taken to the Moon and grinded. And they most certainly don’t want something like that to happen.
It’s been months since Phos was brought on the Moon and grinded, then threw among other dusted Gems. They never knew they had so many siblings.
There was Ruby, who was very excitable like Melon but was also caring and compassionate.
Sapphire, who was extremely serious but had a comical side to them, like Nepti.
Chrysoberyl, Alexandrite’s former partner. They were really smart but also very calming.
There were many others, like Pink Fluorite, Aquamarine, Sphalerite and so on.
They can also hear the Lunarians talking. Most are useless chatter that only makes several Gems, Phos included, furious.
Oh, how much they wanted to simply cut those cheerful Lunarians apart. Or maybe having them incapacitated as they are right now.
Without moving. Without seeing. Without being heard. But conscious and well aware of what was happening.
Several Gems liked to talk about how they wanted the Lunarians to suffer just like them.
Phos started to truly believe that Gems were rotten beings. So attached to themselves; so willing to make their enemies suffer; so bound to their desires to do something.
Phos never felt as glad as now.
In a way, they finally felt like they belonged here. The other grinded Gems understood their wanting to be useful. Even Morga and Goshe started to understand.
As incapable of nothing but dialogue, they all know what it means to have nothing to do. And how infuriating it is.
In a strange and twisted way, Phos felt more at home here than on Earth.
“Hey. Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald”.
“You called for us?” asked Ruby.
“You three have been Yellow’s partners after Green correct?”.
“Pink Topaz has been their partner too. But they rarely talk about it” said Sapphire.
“How was Yellow back then?”.
“Somber and self-commiserating. They also tried to act confident and like any older sibling would but they just couldn’t mask their sadness” answered Emerald.
“Sounds like them, alright”.
“What’s with the sudden interest, Phos?”.
“Just wondering if Yellow has always been so gloomy”.
“They weren’t like that when I was their partner”.
The four Gems listened to Green.
“They were cheerful and cocky. They always liked to cuddle the younger Gems. When I heard that Yellow became what they are now, I felt terrible”.
“Your loss hit Yellow the hardest among all of us”.
“It did, Ruby. They even tried to destroy their hair to forget you, Green. As you can guess, it didn’t work”.
Listening to Sapphire making that remark made Phos believe that Gems were truly attached to one another. Perhaps almost too attached. If only Lunarians didn’t exist.
Another thought entered Phos’s mind. From what they could gather from various dialogues with Gems and between Lunarians, it was because Sensei ‘couldn’t pray’ that they were still at large.
None of the Gem were sure of what ‘pray’ meant. But another thing they could gather was that Sensei wasn’t a Gem like them. Or at least not really.
Apparently, they were a ‘machine’, whatever that meant. One that was meant to pray to let Lunarians ascend to a higher place or something absurd like that.
To Phos, it just meant that Sensei could easily make those Lunarians disappear but can’t.
They didn’t know how to take that information. And so they decided to ask a question that lingered in their mind for some years.
“Hey, everyone”.
“Yeah, Phos?”.
“Is there someone whose angry at Sensei?”.
There was silence. Even the chatter around them faded. It seems Phos’s question attracted much more attention than they thought.
“Why you ask?”.
Red Diamond. Their tone was grave. Like they wanted to avoid to answer that question in any way.
“From what you could all tell me, it’s because of Sensei that we are in this predicament. I was wondering if anyone started to resent him”.
Another bout of silence. Phos couldn’t know this but…
That question… That specific question…has been on the mind of every Gem there.
“…I do, a bit”.
Blue Zoisite was always one to speak their mind no matter the situation. That’s why Phos liked them so much.
“We could be on Earth, living free of all dangers…and yet we’re here. Grinded. With no possibility of recovering. Because Sensei won’t pray and make the Lunarians disappear”.
“I am angry too”.
Sapphire too was someone who always spoke their mind. And like that a chain of agreements was heard through all of them. Even from Red Diamond.
Every single Gem felt some hatred towards Sensei. Yet they all loved him dearly. Phos too hates and loves Sensei.
If they ever meet him again, they would insult him for allowing all this. Then they would all hug him and be happy to be with him again.
Like children to their father.
From what the Gems could hear, the Lunarians were giddy. More than usual anyway. That meant only one thing.
Someone was going to join them. They heard the sound of something being grinded. And soon enough the dust was thrown among the others.
“Hey. Who are you?”.
The Gem squeaked, taken by surprise.
“Don’t worry. We’re all Gems. More or less”.
They meant good, really, but Topaz really sucked at calming down people.
“W-What is going on? W-What is…”.
“Ghost? Ghost, is that you?”.
The Gem gasped.
“Heliodor? Heli, is that really you?”.
“I am. It’s been a while Ghost”.
“Wait, Ghost is here?”.
“Ghost? As in Ghost Quartz?”.
Phos vaguely remember a Gem named Ghost Quartz.
“Hey, Goshe, who is Ghost again?”.
“The librarian. You probably didn’t meet them much”.
“Phos is pretty much allergic to the library, after all”.
“Ah ah ah. Very funny, Morga”.
“Hold on… Morganite? Goshenite? Phosphophyllite?”.
“That we are. Nice to hear you again, Ghost”.
“So… If all of you are here, that means…”.
“Lunarians grind Gems to dust. Yet we’re still somehow conscious and can talk to one another. Not like Lunarians can hear us” said Topaz.
“Wait… If that’s the case… No… It’s impossible…”.
“What is it Ghost?”.
“Is Lapis here?”.
There was a lot of confusion between them. Phos themselves was confused. No Gem named Lapis has ever spoke up.
“Lapis Lazuli? I don’t remember having heard from them at all”.
“Why you ask Ghost?”.
“Lapis was taken some hundreds years ago”.
“Wait, really?!”.
“Lapis was taken?!”.
“They never talked if they were”.
“Hey, who has been captured the most recently?”.
“Me, Phos and Morga. Honestly, I don’t even remember someone named Lapis, to be honest”.
“Neither do I, sorry. And I doubt Phos knows them”.
“I don’t. Hey, is there a Lapis here?!”.
No one answered. Ghost sighed.
“No, no, my fault. It’s impossible for them to talk. Only their body was taken. The head is still on Earth”.
“Oh. Then I guess it’s impossible for them to talk”.
“Hey, Chryso. Would Lapis be conscious just like us?”.
“I doubt that. Our whole bodies have been completely grinded. If Lapis still has their head intact, then they’re probably just unconscious. And perhaps, even if they were conscious, I doubt they’d be able to talk to us. Unless the head gets grinded and thrown along our dusts”.
“Well, at least they’re better off than us”.
Ghost could already feel a lot of things in their mind. Most of them unpleasant.
And just like that someone else joined their little hell.
A hundred years has passed since Phos has been taken to the Moon.
There were times they just wanted to scream. But then they would distract themselves by talking to the others.
Knowing there were so many like them made it easier to endure it.
At some point, they heard the Lunarians talking happily about a Gem they took from Earth.
“Hey, who do you think is going to join us?”.
“How am I supposed to know?”.
“I sincerely hope it’s not Bortz. They’re unbearable”.
“For how cruel I’m sounding right now I’m going to say Dia”.
The conversation between Phos, Ruby and Blue Zoisite was soon interrupted when the Lunarians from cheerful became panicked.
“Hey, what’s going on?”.
“The Lunarians seem troubled”.
“I don’t know why but I’m happy they are”.
After a bit, they heard talking again. There were two voices. One was the prince’s. The other was one barely anyone recognized.
“…Cinnabar?”.
It was Green who spoke.
“Who?”.
“A Gem who has the night patrol assigned to them”.
“We need a night patrol?”.
Green hesitated.
“It’s…complicated”.
The prince, who revealed himself to be named Aechmea, started to explain everything to this Cinnabar.
About how Sensei is a machine for praying. How Lunarians seek to force his hand by kidnapping Gems. And how they grind them to decorate the Moon.
“Decorated with you our Moon is beautiful”.
The Gems felt an immense hatred towards him. They weren’t even seen as living beings.
After a bit of back and forth, Cinnabar agreed to help Aechmea making Sensei pray. The other Gems were understandably shocked.
“What?!”.
“Cinnabar, why?!”.
“How could you?!”.
Cinnabar, however, said that they’ll help him only if they’ll restore the other Gems. That made them calm down but they were still rather annoyed that Cinnabar would help the Lunarians.
“Let’s see it like this. If Cinnabar succeeds, we’ll be restored”.
“You’re rather optimist Phos. But…”.
Phos sighed.
“I won’t try to understand what you’ve been through. Most of you have been here for millennia. And for me it only took a hundred years to realize how horrible this situation is. So I try to stay positive; if not for me at least for the others”.
Red stayed silent before speaking up again.
“You’re a good gem, Phos”.
Phos had the feeling that if Red still had a face, they’d be smiling.
Aechmea said how it was currently impossible for them to restore them but they’ll work on it. After a bit more, Cinnabar left.
Someone else though arrived.
“I don’t understand, prince. We can easily restore all Gems right now. Yeah, the ones with a lower fragility will be trickier but it’s certainly possible”.
And in a split second, all Gems stopped talking.
“I have my reasons, Barbata. Don’t mention anything to them though”.
Barbata sighed, seemingly way too used to it.
“Alright. I have enough of your mysteries to last another lifetime”.
And like that, the Gems’ anger was suddenly relit.
Many yelled and insulted Aechmea. Others screamed in rage. Some simply stayed silent, comprehending what the prince just said.
Phos was among those.
They firmly believed Gems were horrible beings inside. Lunarians were even worse.
If they'll ever be restored, the first thing they’ll do will be to punch Aechmea in the face.
Few weeks later, the Gems could hear other voices talking with Aechmea. Familiar voices.
“Yellow?” said a disbelieving Sapphire.
“Why they’re here?”.
“Cinnabar must have convinced them to come with the them to the Moon”.
Several other voices could be heard.
Chryso gasped at Alex’s voice. Red figured out Dia’s voice among them. Morga recognized Benito. Goshe understood that one of the Amethysts was with them.
The most surprised though was Ghost, who recognized someone who no one ever heard of.
“Cairngorm…”.
“Who?”.
“The Gem that was inside me. Their name is Cairngorm”.
For some reason they can’t understand, Phos believed that to be a very poor choice of words.
Some were weirded out. Others were relived that their former partners were alive.
Aechmea went on how it was impossible for them to restore Gems with low hardness. All Gems felt their anger rise once again, knowing he was lying.
After a while, they heard another voice that no one recognized. They soon found out the owner of the voice was a Gem named Goshenite…much to the other Goshenite’s surprise.
“Could it be that another Goshenite was born while we were up here?”.
“Wow. What were the chances?”.
“Another Goshe, huh? Can’t say I dislike it”.
Goshe would have blushed if they could at Morga’s remark.
Soon enough, another voice was heard. And gasps could be heard all around from the older Gems.
“Padparadscha… They’re…awake”.
The one who spoke was Purple Fluorite, the second oldest after Red Diamond.
Phos remembered Padpa well. They saw them only for a brief while, hundreds of years ago. They spoke little but they left a big impression on the teal Gem.
And they felt really sad when they found out Padpa couldn’t stay awake for much time unless all of their cavities are filled with the right material.
“They’re here… But what about Rutile?”.
“They’re probably still on Earth”.
“How would they have taken Padpa’s disappearance?”.
After a bit of chatter, the Gems were surprised when Cinnabar said they’d be returning to Earth to try and make Sensei pray.
Yellow, Padpa and Cairngorm would go with them. Or at least that’s how it was supposed to go.
Cairngorm was fooled by Aechmea. The prince told them they were controlled by Ghost’s remains. Whenever it was true or not, they weren’t sure. But after he did whatever he did, Cairngorm became much more excitable, bratty and haughty. Not to mention strangely attracted to Aechmea, much to the Gems’ repulsion.
“Ghost, were they always like this?”.
“I…I don’t know…”.
Cairngorm basically became the prince’s puppet. He whispered honeyed words in their ears and they would throw themselves at him. It was creepy to be honest.
Cinnabar, Yellow and Padpa returned from Earth with little success. And so Cinnabar announced they’d try to approach Sensei alone.
They went but they never came back.
Phos was irked by this. What happened to them? Did they decide to remain on Earth? Were they caught?
The answer would come later, when the prince would tell Cairngorm that Cinnabar has been destroyed by the Earth Gems.
The grinded Gems were horrified by this. Their siblings would willingly destroy one of them?
It was a truly sad thought.
In the following years, the Gems on the Moon would become accustomed to their life.
Dia became an ‘idol’, Alex owned a ‘restaurant’, Amethyst became a ‘researcher’.
Whatever all that meant.
Yellow would sometimes come and speak to the grinded Gems, unaware they could hear everything they say. Before breaking apart entirely.
All of Yellow’s former partners felt saddened by their poor state. Especially Green.
Chryso too felt disheartened when Alex started to care less and less for them, to the point of not caring at all.
Padpa instead decided to have their synthetic parts removed and stay comatose. Like before, those closest to them felt sorrowful towards them.
It seems they’ll have work to do once they’ll be restored. Because they will be restored. Aechmea made it clear he had all the intentions of restoring them.
And then turning them into Lunarians.
The grinded Gems felt a wave of hatred and disgust that was much higher than their previous ones.
Them? Turning into Lunarians? Just the thought of it make them wish they could destroy themselves just to avoid it.
Apparently, Sensei has been collecting Cinnabar’s pieces and put them back together. Once they will be restored, they will be rescued and brought to the Moon.
Then they would destroy all Gems that remained on Earth. Then the Lunarians would collect their pieces and restore them on the Moon. Including Sensei. Or rather Adamant, as the prince called him.
Every Gem…except for Cinnabar.
They would become, in Aechmea’s words, a ‘human’. As such they will be able to ‘pray’ and make them vanish from this world to ascend into ‘heaven’.
The Gems still intact agreed to this, with Amethyst even helping them create a machine that would turn Gems into Lunarians.
The grinded Gems were of another idea though. They didn’t want to turn into Lunarians. They didn’t want to vanish. And most importantly…
They didn’t want to leave one of their siblings behind.
Cinnabar would be sacrificed and left behind on Earth, to wander the land for 10.000 years alone, until they’d be able to pray. And then they would return to wander the Earth until the sun would swallow it whole.
Enough with this. Enough with their suffering, enough of the Lunarians and enough of that prince.
“Hey, Phos”.
“Hmm? You’re…Aquamarine, right?”.
“Just Aqua is fine. I realized we didn’t speak much those last years”.
“I guess we didn’t have much to discuss”.
“Something just came to me, all of a sudden. If what Aechmea says is true then they will bring all Gems on the Moon, right?”.
“Yeah. Or at least that’s the conclusion most reached. I was never the smartest Gem around”.
“You’re underestimating yourself, Phos. Sometimes you bring up a lot of good points”.
“I think you’re just flattering me”.
Aqua giggled.
“Sorry, I guess working with Red Beryl rubbed off on me” they sarcastically said.
“You were Red Beryl’s partner?”.
“Yup. Would you believe me if I’d say we were scouts once?”.
“Beryl? A scout?”.
“I’m not making things up. Though Beryl was rather clumsy when it came to handling a sword”.
“That’s why they decided to turn to sewing?”.
“…Actually they told me it was because I was taken. But it wasn’t their fault. I was careless and I got destroyed. Beryl tried to reach for me on the vessel but…”.
“They didn’t reach it I’m guessing?”.
“Exactly. They tried jumping but they fell on the ground and shattered. I guess that experience traumatized them enough to not pick up a sword anymore”.
“Who told you all this?”.
“Emerald and Sapphire. I was taken to the Moon way before them”.
“I didn’t know Red Beryl was that old”.
“You wouldn’t have guessed it, huh?”.
Phos stayed silent a bit more.
“I really don’t want to vanish”.
“Like none of us”.
“I suddenly found out I have so many siblings that I didn’t even know about and the only thing we can do is talk as we lay grinded on the Moon. I want to do so much more with all of you”.
“Most of us feel the same. Red was the first to be taken so they didn’t have many Gems around at the time. They want to have fun with their siblings as much as we do”.
Phos will never accept to vanish just like that, without doing anything. Not when they have so much catching up to do.
A couple of centuries later, Cinnabar was repaired by Sensei and was rescued by Padpa, though not without having to sacrifice themselves to distract the Gems.
It seems Aechmea was right. Cinnabar became so bitter and angry that they wanted nothing more than to destroy all the Gems on Earth.
They took Dia, Alex and Benito with them for that. After they left, the grinded Gems could feel they were being collected.
For the next couple of hours, Phos could only hear their own voice. Nothing else.
At least until, after three centuries, light invaded their vision.
Phos woke up in a bed. In the room, there were several other beds. Inside each of them was a Gem. Phos looked down at themselves and breathed a sigh of relief as they were still their solid, lustrous self, instead of being a Lunarian.
“You’re awake I see”.
Phos looked at their left, seeing a red Gem with medium-length hair, who vaguely resembled Dia, looking at them with a smile.
“Who are you?”.
“I’m Red Diamond. You?”.
“Phosphophyllite. So that’s how you look like… You’re gorgeous”.
“I can say the same to you. I never thought I’d have such an adorable junior”.
Phos smiled brightly at that.
“Hey, is everyone awake?”.
There were murmurs around them. Most of the Gems stood up and looked at each other. They were all without powder on. Their bodies shone of different beautiful lights. They were all happy to see each other solid again. And even more seeing how pretty their other siblings were.
Everyone had to reintroduce themselves once again as most of them didn’t know the appearance of most Gems.
The green Gem with curly hair was Emerald. The one with styled blue hair was Blue Zoisite. The one with long honey hair was Chrysoberyl. And so on.
Luckily, all of them were yet to become Lunarians. They were still their beautiful selves.
“Not everyone is here though”.
“Perhaps they are in another room”.
“We were a lot”.
Suddenly, a couple of Lunarians entered the room, gasping in surprise at seeing all the Gems inside awake.
“Oh dear. It seems the prince was wrong in saying it would take them a lot of time to wake up”.
“We should inform him immediately”.
And just as they entered, they left. The Gems stared at them go, most with disdain. A bit later, some Lunarians returned and asked them to follow them.
They did so, mostly to see if everyone was restored. And sure enough, when they entered a wide room, there were several Gems standing there, chatting with each other.
Phos saw Morga and Goshe and immediately run up to them. The two were happy to see their younger sibling again. Other Gems recognized each other and were glad to finally be able to see them again.
Suddenly, a tall Lunarian arrived with a purple Gem standing beside him. Phos concluded they must have been Aechmea and Amethyst.
“I did not expect you to wake up so early”.
There was silence until he spoke again.
“My name is Enma. I’m sure you have a lot of questions and I assure you they will be answered but for now I must ask for your cooperation”.
Feigning ignorance, Green Diamond levelled a cold stare at him.
“…For what?”.
Enma very subtly raised a brow before speaking up again.
He explained the story of the Lunarians, of how the Moon and the Earth became what they are.
And of his plan to finally make the remaining living beings pass on from this world.
“Immortality is a curse. Whoever is burdened by it will inevitably lose their reason and decay into something ugly and twisted. I’ve seen it myself”.
Enma stared at all the Gems he was facing.
“I can put an end to it. To our conflict, to our differences. Everything. Once it’s done, everyone can finally move on to a place of pleasure and nothingness”.
Amethyst spoke up for the first time since they arrived.
“But to do that we need to become Lunarians. Otherwise the process won’t work”.
Phos felt their body tremble by how accepting Amethyst was of it.
“So, may I please ask you to cooperate?”.
“No”.
Red Diamond spoke with finality, befitting for the oldest Gem. Enma, of course, seemed to have predicted such an answer.
“I expected it as much. I can understand you hate us, but we can put an end to our conflict. An eternity of suffering, of repeating the same actions again and again, is something no one can withstand. I can finally end it”.
Blue Zoisite gritted their teeth.
“But you were the ones who caused our suffering in the first place. Couldn’t you have just disappeared and left us alone?”.
“I did consider it at some point, yes. Adamant, who you commonly known as Sensei, is in truth a prayer machine that was instructed to free us from this prison. But he broke at some point. And passing on became impossible. So I proposed a solution. One Gem would be turned into the next prayer machine in order to make us pass on. Adamant agreed…on one condition”.
Phos felt their eyes widen just a bit. Ruby took a long breath.
“What…condition?”.
“Before breaking, Adamant found a kind that still lived on Earth despite its conditions. A kind made of stone, capable of surviving the harshest environments, and that was able to manifest emotions and intelligence. The Gems. In other words, you”.
Phos had a nagging feeling of what was to come.
“Adamant grew to care for Gems like they were his family. But if he was to free us then he would also shut down, leaving behind the family he loved so much. So he asked me to bring the Gems with us. And the only possible way for it to happen was to turn every Gem into Lunarians. As such, once the praying will be complete, we would all pass on to a higher place”.
The Gems felt like something resonated all within them.
Sensei…loved them so much that he wanted to bring them with him, to vanish into nothingness. In a way, that proved just how much he cared for them, as his only family. Even if it was selfish in a way.
They understood why would he work with Aechmea, or rather Enma.
“Should we continue with the process? Once it’s done everyone will become Lunarians”.
By this point, anyone would believe that they would accept. To follow their Sensei and stay with him as they disappear. But Gems weren’t so keen to vanish for that.
“No”.
Enma widened his eyes and raised his head as Red Diamond answered. All the Gems were looking at him with cold glares. Amethyst themselves looked surprised and intimidated.
“We refuse”.
They were the only one who said that but it was clear that they were speaking for all of them. Enma slightly furrowed his brows.
“Why? To refuse the possibility of finally be free of this static world is foolish”.
Red was about to speak again when Phos glanced at them. As they met their eyes, the red Gem nodded at them. Phos walked in front of all Gems and stared at Enma.
“It’s simple. We don’t want to disappear”.
Enma furrowed his brows even more. Amethyst was starting to get fidgety.
“So you’re willing to live in a condemned world instead of moving on to a heaven of pleasure?”.
“Yes”.
Phos’s answer took him completely by surprise. Enough to make him take a step back. Then Phos closed their eyes.
“Well, that and…”.
They opened their eyes and darkly smiled, surprising Enma even more.
“We just hate you…Aechmea”.
That finally broke Enma’s calm persona. He looked in complete horror as that name flowed out of Phos’s mouth. Taking some steps back, he could see that several other Gems were smiling darkly at him.
“How…How do you know that name?”.
Emerald advanced and stood by Phos’s right.
“When we were grinded…we were conscious the whole time”.
Enma felt the air leaving his lungs at that statement. Amethyst themselves looked at them in shock. Sapphire advanced and stood by their siblings’ side as well.
“We knew of your plans and of your treachery. We didn’t know about your pact with Adamant. But we knew everything else”.
Chrysoberyl moved behind Phos.
“We were still. Incapable of moving. Of seeing. Of sleeping. We could only communicate with each other…and hear of what went on around us. Without being able to be heard”.
Green raised their head, staring at Enma with another dark smirk.
“We hate you Lunarians with all of our hearts. To become like you repulse us to our very core”.
Enma’s expression turned frantic, if not a bit annoyed.
“But you will be free of the binds that you’re chained to. You will finally be ready to move on from this world”.
Purple Flourite shook their head.
“We have a lot of catching up to do. Some of us have been grinded for thousands of years. And we didn’t even knew we had so many younger siblings”.
Aqua went and hugged Emerald from behind.
“There’s a lot we want to do in ten-thousand years. But being Lunarians? Like you? It makes us sick”.
Red Diamond walked around, taking relish in seeing Enma’s face twisted in incredulity while Amethyst looked even more agitated.
“Besides…”.
Red glanced at Phos and Chryso. The red Gem put themselves between them as Phos put their hands on Red’s shoulders while Chryso hugged them from behind.
“We would never give up our beauty to become like you”.
Their smiles were disarming. Enma could feel the arrogance coming from them, but also the sheer mockery they carried.
Heliodor chuckled as they felt Ruby’s hands on their shoulders.
“Why would we want to give up our luster? It’s what makes us the beautiful beings we are. We’d never want to lose it”.
Green Diamond tilted their head up with Sapphire leaning their head on their shoulder.
“The world will end anyway, right? So we might as well continue our lives as we want”.
Enma’s eyes drifted down. If they already knew that the sun would swallow the planets in the future, then there was nothing else he can do to convince them.
As he raised his eyes, he saw Ghost Quartz smirking dangerously.
“You said that we would pass on to a heaven should we vanish. What makes you so sure that by praying and disappearing, we’d move on to this heaven?”
Enma suddenly widened his eyes as horror slowly returned to wash over him. Goshe stood by Ghost’s side and grasped their hand.
“It’s true. Maybe in this ‘heaven’, your body will disappear but your consciousness might still remain. Without being able to move. To see. To talk. To hear. But being conscious nonetheless. Just like us”.
Enma gripped his fists as the Gems continued to point out the possibility of just damning them to a hell even worse than this one, saying how all of his planning might still end up for nothing.
By the end of it, Enma was kneeling on the ground with his arms propping him up. The Gems looked in satisfaction as the being they hated the most was having a mental breakdown.
In all this, Amethyst stood back looking at them with slight horror. As Phos turned to them, the purple Gem felt themselves gulping down air.
“Amethyst. I don’t think any of us would want to become a Lunarian, in case that wasn’t clear enough”.
They simply nodded, trying to keep their nerves in check. In little time, all the other Gems started to arrive in the hall, looking first in shock to see their grinded siblings, then in confusion as they saw Enma on the ground.
Among those, Yellow couldn’t avert their eyes from their former partners.
“Green… Ruby… Sapphire… Emerald… Pink Topaz…”.
Yellow could already feel their face cracking as they kneeled.
“All this time… I wanted… I wanted to tell you I’m-”.
“We don’t want to hear it”.
Yellow felt their eyes widening as Green moved towards them and put a hand on their shoulder, smiling reassuringly.
“It was never your fault for our loss. It was just a twisted coincidence that we were taken. Please, don’t fault yourself over that”.
“But I couldn’t help you! I…I could have saved you… I was the fastest… And yet…”.
Ruby kneeled in front of Yellow and gently flicked their forehead. It was so gentle that the yellow Gem didn’t even crack from it.
“Accidents happen. Instead of faulting yourself, fault the ones who actually took us to the Moon”.
Sapphire joined them.
“This time we won’t go anywhere else. We’ll be staying with you. Until we’ll be swallowed by the sun”.
After a few seconds of silence, Yellow immediately went and hugged the three Gems, much to their amusement. Emerald and Pink Topaz shared a grin as they went to hug Yellow as well.
Phos looked at them before turning to the other Gems. Some were stunned, some were happy. Once they saw everyone, their eyes fell on the tallest being in the room.
Adamant.
Phos moved towards them. The giant was looking at them with regret.
“Sensei. Actually, let me call you Adamant”.
“Phosphophyllite…”.
Phos looked up at their father figure.
“We love you more than anything in the world. We can all understand why you’d want to vanish with us. But…”.
They looked sadly at him.
“We wouldn’t be happy if one of us gets sacrificed to achieve such a thing. To be alone, unable to do anything but wait… It’s a fate worse than anything I know”.
Adamant looked down.
“I never wanted that to happen. But I couldn’t bear shutting down and leave you all behind. Not after I finally felt happy after thousands of years. I am extremely selfish. I am not so foolish to believe you’d forgive me”.
Phos smiled as they went and hugged Adamant. Soon enough, many other Gems hugged the giant much to his surprise.
“We’re angry at you. You were the reason the Lunarians took us to the Moon”.
Phos looked at his face with a smile.
“But we still love you. More than anything in the world…dad”.
Adamant gaped in surprise at that. All of a sudden, two straight cracks appeared from under his eyes. He fell on his knees as the Gems let him go.
“I don’t deserve any of you… I…can’t be happier…to have carved all of you”.
The Gems stood there, watching as their father stood on his knees. Red suddenly approached him.
“Sensei”.
“Red Diamond… I’m sorry…you had to go through all that”.
“It’s okay. I’m angry…but I forgive you. We all forgive you”.
Adamant smiled ruefully at them. Before he turned to the still kneeling Enma.
“I don’t want you keep living under fear of the Lunarians. But…by praying…”.
“You’ll shut down, yes. We’re aware”.
Phos looked down in sadness.
“We don’t want to let you go. We’re Gems. We’re selfish beings”.
Then they looked up at him.
“But we also don’t want you to continue suffering by seeing us destroyed and grinded”.
Red Diamond glanced at them before turning to Adamant.
“Hey, Sensei. We’ll incredibly miss you but…”.
They looked down only for two seconds before they smiled at him sadly.
“But we’ll be fine. I know we will. We’ll stay together. Until everything will end. And maybe we’ll see each other again”.
Adamant raised a hand but suddenly stopped. Phos and Red grabbed it and smiled warmly. The giant managed to return their smiles. Then he turned to Enma.
“Enma. I think it’s time to go”.
Finally, after all this time, the Lunarian stood on his knees and looked at Adamant. His eyes were emotionless like before.
“…I guess it is”.
Using the Lunarian ships, all the Gems were brought back on Earth.
The first thing Phos saw as they landed was a Gem covered in mercury with cracks all around their body. They approached them.
“Cinnabar”.
The Gem looked up with their only visible eye. They blinked a couple of times before grabbing their head.
“What’s with these hallucinations? Everyone…has been taken away”.
Phos grabbed Cinnabar’s hand. The mercury burned their hand but they didn’t let go. Cinnabar released their face, surprised that the hallucination touched them.
“It’s okay. Everything will be fine, Cinnabar. We’ll fix you”.
They stared at Phos’s smile as several other Gems approached them. Suddenly, the mercury shifted and left Cinnabar’s body, leaving their broken red body behind.
Not feeling that burning sensation anymore, Phos kneeled in front of them.
“Don’t worry. You won’t have to suffer. Not anymore”.
All the Gems were returned to Earth. However, Adamant remained on the Moon, deciding it was better that way. Then he started praying. The Gems looked in shock as the Moon disappeared from the sky, bringing all the Lunarians and Adamant with it.
Cairngorm was obviously against all this. But Ghost and Lapis pretty much forced them back. Phos remembers well what they said to them.
“It seems that prince brainwashed you way too good. I guess we’ll have to work on that”.
“Don’t worry. You’ll become so dependent on us, you’ll forget him quickly”.
Phos doesn’t know if Lapis was joking or was serious but they concluded they don’t want to know.
Days later, as they walked through the hall of the school, they came across Chryso.
“Hey, Chryso. How’s it going?”.
“Pretty good actually. Adamant left behind a lot of books about the world before the meteors arrived. They are so fascinating. Did you know that somewhere in the world, there were immense lands completely made of sand? Or giant mountains that sprout a hot liquid named lava?”.
“They sound like incredible places to see. I wonder if there are still some in the world…”.
Chryso smiled.
“That’s why we decided to assemble a team of explorers. They’ll be leaving the island and search beyond the ocean”.
Phos’s eyes sparkled.
“That seems amazing! But aren’t there going to be several unknown dangers?”.
“Maybe. That’s why we decided to send experienced Gem to this expedition. Though, we’d be glad to have you on the team”.
Phos gasped and pointed at themselves.
“Wait, me?! But…wouldn’t I get in the way?”.
“I don’t think so. We need someone that has a strong sense of adventure and you fit the bill”.
Phos opened their mouth in joy as they did a salute.
“Thank you for choosing me. I promise I won’t disappoint”.
Chryso chuckled.
“I know you won’t”.
Then they looked behind them.
“By the way, where’s… Ah, here they are”.
Phos looked behind them and almost stumbled as they saw someone carrying a tower of books in their hands. While they couldn’t see their face, they certainly recognized the long blue hair.
“Alex?”.
“Yeah, they’ve been helping me with my research. They are so useful for carrying things around”.
“C-Chryso, I told you I’m sorry for saying I didn’t care about you, I didn’t mean it”.
The yellow Gem furrowed their brows and crossed their arms.
“Hush you. There’s still a lot of work to be done. Start by leaving those books in my room”.
“Y-Yes, ma’am…”.
Alex went their way as Phos followed their movements. Then they looked back at Chryso, who was chuckling.
“You…are not really angry at them, aren’t you?”.
Chryso put a finger on their mouth.
“Maybe not. But a little payback is always deserved”.
Phos laughed as Chryso went after Alex. They continued their walk. They saw Yellow and their partners chatting, catching up in all the years they’ve been apart.
They saw the Amethysts speaking to each other. Honestly, it was a bit hilarious. When 33 saw how 84 styled their hair, they put a hurt expression and said…
“You don’t want to be my half anymore?”.
84 vehemently denied it before trying to match their hair as 33, obviously not being able to. Their twin dropped their expression and grinned mischievously before helping 84 with their hair. They were really embarrassed for being tricked by 33 but it was clear from their tone that they weren’t angry at them.
Phos passed Dia by the pond. It seems now that they weren’t at the center of attention anymore, they were drawn back to themselves. The mint Gem sighed, hoping that with time, they’ll return to their kind self.
Phos passed by the library, seeing Lapis and Ghost inside. Curious, they entered the place, seeing both of them each deeply immersed into one of the books left behind by Adamant. Lapis noticed them as Phos approached.
“Phos, to what do we owe the pleasure?”.
“I’ve noticed Cairn isn’t with you. You normally keep them attached to the hip”.
Ghost looked up from their book and pointed at the side of a bookcase.
“They’re over there actually”.
Phos blinked before turning to where Ghost was pointing, seeing a curled up Cairngorm laying on some books.
“Are they…okay?”.
Lapis put a hand under their chin.
“It seems they finally realized Enma never actually cared for them and they were just another puppet to him”.
“Ah…”.
“I thought I was acting of my own will…”.
Cairn curled up even more on themselves. Phos and Ghost sweat dropped as Lapis watched with amusement.
“Will they…really be fine?”.
“Give them some time. Besides you can see it as payback for having been such a prude”.
Phos laughed awkwardly. Lapis glanced at them.
“I heard Chryso wanted to assemble a team of explorers to travel the ocean”.
Phos immediately perked up.
“Yes, and they asked me to join”.
“Oh? Interesting. I will be going as well. We might as well partner up for this job, don’t you agree, Ghost?”.
Ghost put a hand on their chin and raised their eyes.
“I guess you’ll be a good match when it comes to exploring. Your curiosities are limitless”.
Phos bended towards Lapis.
“Then I guess we’ll work together from now on, partner”.
Lapis chuckled at the display and put their arm behind their long hair.
“Happy to work with you in advance, Phos”.
After bidding them goodbye, Phos left the library and went towards the fields. It was surprising since snow started to fall a month earlier than normal.
As they walked through the snowed fields, they met up with Antarcticite, the Gem that was in charge of the winter duties.
“Hi, Antarc”.
“Phos. Nice to see you. Did you need me for something?”.
“Nope, just greeting you. But I did hear you’ll receive help this year for the winter duties”.
Antarc nodded.
“Indeed. Red Diamond and Purple Fluorite both wanted to join me. According to them, they never saw how winter is like”.
“Can’t blame them. Red has been the very first Gem created and the first one to be grinded. In all these millennia, they must have really wanted to move their legs”.
Antarc looked down for a second before looking at Phos again.
“How it’s like to be grinded?”.
The mint Gem looked at the white one.
“You can’t move. You can’t see. You can’t be heard. The only thing we could do was listen and talking to each other. It was hell”.
“I see… I won’t try to pretend I understand what you went through. But know that those days are beyond us”.
Phos chuckled.
“Did you read one of Heli’s books by any chance? That sounds like something they’d write”.
Antarc visibly blushed.
“…Maybe. But I mean it”.
“I know Antarc. And I’m glad you do. Well, good luck with your duties”.
They separated with a wave. Phos decided to return inside the school and check on the infirmary. Inside they saw Cinnabar on the operating table as Heliodor and Red Diamond finished patching them up.
“Hey, there”.
The Gems waved at Phos. They looked at the red Gem laying on the table.
Before they returned to the Earth, Enma had Barbata explain to them how to suppress Cinnabar’s poison, calling it a ‘parting gift’.
And it seems it worked. Cinnabar wasn’t emitting mercury anymore.
“Are they okay?”.
“They’re just sleeping. It’s been hard on them. Way too hard”.
Phos watched as Cinnabar slept. If they were in their place…Phos doesn’t know if they’d be able to not crumble under all the stress and the trauma.
Removing those thoughts, they turned to Red and Heli.
“How come you’re here anyway? I thought Rutile was the doctor?”.
Heli scratched their cheek awkwardly.
“They, uh… They are…”.
Speak of the devil, Padpa and a tired-looking Rutile appeared in the infirmary, with the latter following the former.
“And that’s why you should stop being so dependent on me. It’s really not good on your mind”.
“Y-Yes, Padpa. I’m sorry”.
The taller Gem smiled and raised Rutile’s head.
“Though I don’t mind you wearing your hair straight like before. Gives you a wild appearance”.
Rutile blushed red before looking back down. Phos sweat dropped.
“I don’t…I don’t think you’re helping them Padpa…”.
Said Gem looked at them before chuckling.
“I guess I am having a bit too much fun”.
Red chuckled.
“You were always like that Padpa. That never changed about you”.
“Guess not”.
Phos looked at Rutile, who gazed up once they felt someone staring at them.
“Still… I’m surprised they turned out like this. Now they look even sexier than before”.
“I know right?”.
Rutile raised their arms as they brought out a scalpel and pointed it towards Phos, who lifted their hands in mock surrender.
“I give. But will you keep being a scout, now that Lunarians are no more?”.
Rutile twisted their mouth and looked at their side in silence for a bit.
“I guess I’ll return being a doctor. Though I definitely lost my touch since the last time I operated on someone”.
Red Diamond smiled at them.
“Don’t worry. I’ll help you. I was the very first doctor the island had. I fixed so many Gems that I basically got our structure memorized”.
“I appreciate it Red”.
Suddenly, they heard groaning from the bed. Turning to it, Phos saw Cinnabar finally waking up.
“What…happened?”.
They looked at themselves, seeing they were back to their old self. Except the mercury wasn’t floating around them.
“I… How could…?”.
“It’s fine Cinnabar”.
Cinnabar turned to Phos.
“I told you. Everything will be fine. Lunarians are no more and you’re back to normal. Well, more or less. We managed to suppress your poison. Now you don’t have to worry about hurting others”.
Cinnabar widened their eyes and gaped. It…It was unbelievable.
“Is…Is it true?”.
Heli nodded.
“No problem. You’re as harmless as a butterfly”.
It seems the ghost of a smile was appearing on their face until they crossed eyes with Rutile.
“Rutile… I…”.
“No, leave it. Padpa explained to me the reason you took them with you. The real reason”.
Cinnabar suddenly relaxed despite still looking rather tense. Rutile scratched the back of their neck.
“So…I’m saying that it’s fine… And that I…forgive you…”.
Rutile then went their way, trying hard to walk away as fast as possible. Padpa smiled in an amused way.
“I think they’re still trying to truly forgive you Cinnabar but at least that’s a start. I better follow them before they crash into someone or something”.
Padpa went after Rutile. Red suddenly remembered something.
“Ah, right. I should talk with Chryso about having you join our expedition”.
“W-Wait, what?”.
“We’re thinking of having a group travel the ocean to see if there’s any kind of place outside our island. It will take a while to build a ship and take all the proper precautions but we’re already forming the team and your knowledge would certainly be of help”.
Phos pointed at their face and smiled.
“I’ll be one of the members. Let’s give our best Cinnabar”.
“A-Ah, wait, let me think about it, it’s rather sudden”.
“Ah, right, sorry. I guess I got too excited”.
“Heli! Red! Can you help me over there?”.
The two Gems looked at Jade and went over them, not before waving Phos and Cinnabar goodbye. The red Gem turned to their junior.
“So it’s true… The Lunarians… All the Gems…”.
“Lunarians gone and Gems restored. Well… Except Adamant…”.
Phos went to explain how Adamant decided to remain on the Moon and disappear along the Lunarians. Cinnabar was left speechless. For the last years, they hated Adamant for being the reason they were all suffering…and now he sacrificed himself like that to keep them safe.
How could they have hated someone like that…
“It’s okay to feel angry. All of us felt angry at him at some point. But we still love him. Because he’s the one who carved us and made us like this”.
Phos put a hand on their chest.
“And perhaps…when the Earth will be eaten by the sun and we’ll melt away, we’ll see him again”.
They looked at Cinnabar with a smile.
“And maybe then we can truly thank him for the life he gave us”.
Cinnabar blinked a couple of times. Then they softly smiled.
“Yes… Yes, we will”.
Phos suddenly grabbed their hand and helped them getting off the table.
“By the way, did you know we had so many siblings? I need to introduce you to all of them”.
“Ah. I would like that”.
Cinnabar followed Phos for the entire school, seeing old and new faces, and finally be able to mingle with them without fearing of hurting anyone.
For the first time since they were born, Cinnabar finally felt at peace.