Chương 158: LOG-150.

Pain. With reformation of her lightform, came pain. Diamond Pearl 1A was not necessarily a stranger to pain, even if it had been a long, long time since she'd experienced it. Pink Diamond's… episodes… had sometimes spilled out into meetings after all, and she'd long since learned to dodge quickly if she was nearby, at least after the first few incidents. No one else wanted to end up like 1C, after all. But she'd never expected something similar to happen with Blue.

Never expected having to dodge during a time where she should have been perfectly safe. That was her mistake. And as such, she hadn't been ready for the brief but horribly intense burst of agony. Consciousness had fled quickly as a result, but now that same awareness was back, and with it, pain the likes of which she had never felt before. 1A was a naturally prideful thing. She knew her worth, knew the strength of her position. And to show weakness as an extension of her Diamond …

unacceptable, almost unthinkable even, and absolutely mortifying. Such a thing was to be avoided at all costs. So it was with great embarrassment (and of course pain) that the Pearl felt her gemstone physically continue to stitch itself together, some kind of soothing ointment lessening the agony only slightly as her lightform shook with the exertion of holding itself together.

The tears blurring her vision prevented her from seeing where she was, nor identifying the shape in front of her, one that moved forward quickly, sidling up next to her with a splash of something. Whoever the other Gem was, she felt like… like a Pearl, but taller, no- bigger. The realisation that she was with a Nacre came right as clawed hands took gentle grasp of her own shivering arms, keeping them well away from her gemstone, before 1A was pulled into a loose embrace.

"N-Nacre…!" The word stuttered out of trembling lips, even as the rest of her continued to shake slightly within the comforting sensation of the Caretaker's grasp.

"Shh, you're fine. You're okay." The words initially didn't register. 1A knew what they meant, but struggled to remember the last time she had heard anything like them, let alone such kindness being directed at her. It was all too much, and as the sweet nothings continued to be whispered in the safety of what had to be the Reef, the Pearl could do little but cry in lessening pain and increasing relief, her thin limbs wrapping around the Gem holding her in the familiar, refreshing warmth of a restoration pool.

— It wasn't often that one could get a true moment's privacy in the Reef. Particularly with their new Overseer running around inspecting everything, but One made do. And wasn't that a thought? A Pearl becoming a Nacre! Though to be honest it wasn't the strangest thing that One had ever heard of in the eons of the Empire's history, but still! Viridian's appearance wasn't even the first time the specific process had been attempted, but it was the first identifiable success.

Before now, she had only ever heard of a singular effort of such being made, and according to the rumours surrounding the whole debacle, nothing worth mentioning had come of that entire endeavor. And yet now, Three's little favourite was in charge, something the uppity, loudmouthed upstart was all too willing to brag about, the defective clod-"You're overthinking again."

Two's quiet murmur brought the Caretaker out of her reverie, lightform tensing slightly as she glanced around the room, searching for other Gems out of habit, if not outright paranoia.

"Perhaps." Her fellow Nacre raised a delicate brow at that, casting a sharp figure as a clawed thumb and finger scraped against each other, with the rest of her body lounging on the sofa that, in any other circumstance, would have been reserved for showing off to guests. There were no better bragging rights than having a bunch of Pearls just sitting around doing nothing other than posing for their potential owners, after all. Excess didn't even begin to describe it.

As was only proper for a distinguished facility like the Reef. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Even if said sofa wasn't actually meant to be in this particular room, but…

"Hm, so many thoughts. Always racing around in that gemstone of yours. Maybe something ought to be…done about that?" One glanced down, almost unwillingly, at the destabilizer resting on one of the sofa's arms, the edge of her lips tugging upwards into an involuntary smile at her counterpart's inviting tone.

"... Perhaps-""Caretaker Nacre One, your presence is demanded by order of the Overseer. Proceed to the restoration center at once." And just like that, the mood was shattered. Grunting at Shell's intrusion, One pushed off from the wall she'd been leaning against, shooting her fellow Caretaker an apologetic look, one which Two waved off with her usual grace, before moving towards the door while restraining her desire to grumble, at least for the moment.

There was no illuminated path to follow, not that she needed one, of course. The side effects of being built alongside the very facility she… used to command. Frowning a little as she made her way along, the Nacre pondered just what the Pearl turned Overseer could possibly want from her specifically. A personal report on that part of the Reef? Advice in regards to something? Could she have… no, surely not that. The repercussions if it were true had One immediately dismissing the thought.

The Gem smoothed out her expression, even as she forcibly pushed down the horrific anxiety that had begun bubbling somewhere within her gemstone, passing through two halls before reaching the nearest Warp pad. Light engulfed her form, and just like that, she was at the restoration center, glancing around for some sign of her newly installed superior and… There, an opened pathway in between two of the lesser pools. One that… wait, didn't that lead to-?

"Nacre One! You are required!" Oh no. Flinching at the Pearl-no, damn it all, the Nacre's voice, One stumbled forward, rushing towards the opening as she finally made out the sound of sobbing. Eyes wide, the Caretaker finally turned the corner, passing through the opening and immediately locking eyes with her Overseer. To say that it was a sight would be an understatement, the green tinted Gem was inside one of the priority restoration pools, lightform all but engulfing a smaller, golden hued…

The gasp that slipped past her lips was a breach in public decorum, but the Overseer didn't seem to care, and so One moved forward as quickly as her grace would allow, heels clicking against the floor before she was finally all but leaning over the rim of the pool, staring down at the sight of… of…

"Oh 1A…" The utterance prompted a stiffening of the mentioned Pearl's lightform, before the sobs renewed in earnest, startling her and drawing a grimace from Three's favourite.

"She requested your presence specifically." The Overseer said softly, before her tone turned notably impatient.

"Now deal with this so I can get out of this goo." It was a horribly awkward situation, and by getting into the pool as her fellow Nacre had, she'd be getting her lightform covered in essence and other restorative materials (goo was certainly a… rather accurate term for it, actually), but well… orders were orders, she supposed! As she slid inside and extended her arms, all One could ponder was just how the Overseer had accomplished what both she and Two had utterly failed at.

Of course that was before a certain yellow limpet abruptly latched onto her front, arms wrapping around her waist and pointed nose digging into her abdomen in a way that brought quite a few potently nostalgic memories to the forefront of her mind. One didn't notice the Overseer slipping loose of the pool and making a quiet exit until far, far later. And even if she had… well. Her first ever Pearl needed her attention more, evidently.