Chương 180: Trapped. (written by forthisnotalwaysforward, edited by Tomb Spyder)

Blue felt trapped. And that feeling was a crushing permanence of the last horrible, horrible decade. Trapped in that awful way when each new cycle was looking steadily worse than the previous one, with less available choices, and with new problems her Court didn't, wouldn't have good solutions for. She looked around the strategy hall that she and her chosen Gems had all arrayed themselves within. The closest of her Court. The… the most trusted.

In these late ten years she had been spending more and more time here, and less and less time in her throne room. And then at some point, there simply wasn't any reason to go there at all. Nothing important that would demand her actual presence had happened within the halls of that palace anyway, and in the still remaining time of that illusion of calmness that her Court yet had, nothing important would. And thus everything that mattered was gathered here, with her and her ever dedicated helpers.

Two of her best Blue Garnets. Elegant, exquisite Gems that made war into their calling, art and passion alloyed within their martial forms. One of the rarest types of Garnets among Gemkind, and very much deservedly so. They were rivalled in such quality perhaps, only by White Grossulars, and even then Blue had her doubts about that still being the case, particularly with some of the subtle changes and developments White's own Court had demonstrated as of late.

Alongside her war leaders stood dozens of lesser Gems of various lines each focused upon the strategies and plans that her Court would require. Each personally chosen by her with the help of her Sapphires, handpicked to be present alongside their Diamond. And of course, there stood the aforementioned Sapphires. Or rather, one impressive fusion of ten of the most loyal of them, who each held a seat of critical importance within her hall. The most loyal. Oh, the bitter irony.

Before her and Yellow's latest disagreement… no. Before Yellow had attacked her, and her own Gems had helped, Blue wouldn't have even thought to consider the idea. Degrees of loyalty. The thought still felt absurd. A Gem was either loyal. Or she wasn't. With everything that such a notion entailed.

Now, after having begun to learn more about how things really were in their vast and perfect Empire, Blue knew that even amongst the most noble of Gems, if apprised properly, a majority would fall short of having true, unflinching devotion. But of course, they would be loyal to their Court, loyal to the idea of Empire, loyal, perhaps, to the future of Gemkind itself, so long as they found themselves directing it. But all of that came with caveats and personal agendas.

Unique wants and desires, each custom tailored to the individual that bore them. … Maybe it was different for the White Court. Stars, it almost certainly was, even, with the way some of those pale statues strived to become all but perfect mirrors to their own ever radiant Diamond. But not with her free thinking Gems.

And not with Yellow's Court, full of warriors and engineers as it was, even if their own loyalty was so much more functional in nature, additionally enforced by the very structure of the global machine they were acted as the disposable parts of.' It will begin with Yellow Diamond! Very soon you will lose her!' Begin with. Blue hadn't thought about it, back then. Back when she truly should have, damnable fool that she was. But now… what else would she lose?

How much more was there for her to lose anyway, that she would still care about? She looked around again, holding back the endless fount of tears that desperately sought escape for what felt like the first time in her life, staring at her followers. At her Court. It felt like the first time she had ever truly looked at them. Perhaps… perhaps she wouldn't want to lose those who cared about her, at least. And perhaps she would find a way to reach for Yellow and White at some point, one way or another.

Which meant that, however bad her options were, she still needed to do what she could. Something, anything that could make a difference.

"Has every one of our remaining commanders received their instructions?" Remaining. Because she didn't want to call them loyal. She didn't want to admit that there were those who would turn light and flee, or worse, defect when the time came.

"Yes, My Diamond. They will read them either at the due date, or when the communications cease entirely, as protocol dictates." Good. Good.

"Worry not, your luminescence. The Sapphires that are best prepared for advising our admirals have been stationed upon their ships, and know to play their parts. I have discussed our vision with them, particularly in regards to when it might prove beneficial to compare details and nuances." This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Blue couldn't help it. She shuddered, whether out of relief or worry was anyone's guess at this point.

"That's good, Sapphire. Show… show the most important parts to me later, if you would." It was hard for the Gem Empire's Oracles to predict Diamonds. Hard, but not impossible. Otherwise, the Great Diamond Authority would have never bothered listening to their visions, never in regards to any truly vital matters, at least. After all, the consequence of such things inevitably included the Diamonds themselves acting upon what they heard. A rather important factor, that.

Otherwise, the Star Sapphires could have never been able to seek stars acceptable to play host to the manifestations of Homeworld's rulers. Even if their findings were often uncertain after her and Yellow's own creation. Even if to this date, those findings had led to only one star, chosen from thousands, proving itself to be compatible. And yet even that one single spark had proven itself a tremendous success for their race… until they all had been robbed of their prize, at least.

Regardless of the loss (oh, dearest Pink), there was no point in asking for predictions regarding threats and challenges that could befall her kin. The Sapphire whose vision was led astray by her scratched, defective Ruby protector continued to serve as a cautionary tale against believing them blindly. Something she should have heeded, among many other things. And now, after hers and Yellow's… fight, she had at last realized just how limited they both were in the expression of their true, star gifted power.

The things her counterpart had done when she'd finally felt pressed enough to accomplish such had been… frightening to witness. And that had been before the pain had struck her lightform. Blue had never seen anything like it. She would give almost anything to never experience it again. She, of course, had grown accustomed to seeing Yellow's lightning, or her occasional mastery over the lightforms of their subjects. At the time, it had served as direct evidence of the power she held.

Oh, how naive they both had been. Yellow, who had finally fought seriously for the first time in her entire existence, had instead summoned veritable storms of energy, and changed the very battlefield they had stood upon, as if bending the material itself. And her own element, when she was forced to defend herself, had shown and expressed itself to her in ways she never would have expected. Odd, mind dizzying echoes of events and actions that had never happened, and were as such never taken by her.

Yet somehow beheld strange consequences despite their immaterial nature. Exotic energies she had been able... no, that she was forced to touch and bring to the surface. A deep, all encompassing connection to an endless abyss of passion, fear, ire, and certainty, all interwoven together and acting as if they were all different facets of one grand whole.

In light of her failure, Blue had begun to experiment with those new revelations during these past few cycles, and she had in turn experienced sporadic levels of success. But for once in her life, time was limited, and she knew she would never be able to reach deep enough to make a difference anyway. It was where her helpers came into the picture.

Where she could only get hints, or manage to glimpse some tragic inevitability through the mists of her colour, her closest Sapphires were able to work through the uncertainties, interpreting the vague outlines into an understanding they could work upon. Still, the Oracular Gems needed to make an effort to overcome the associated difficulty.

They needed experience to have (as Blue had started to realize after her own flimsy experiments with her powers), an understanding and mastery of what they were doing when a Diamond was involved in the painting they were observing. Thus, when those chosen Oracles approached her with a suggestion of allowing them to combine their powers together, Blue hadn't hesitated in giving her approval. For what point was there to propriety? In this Era of battling Diamonds and looming civil wars?

No, while long term fusions were usually frowned upon in the Empire, Blue was long since past caring. Besides, it was in her prerogative as a ruler of the Court to decide upon what was appropriate, and what wasn't. The resulting union of the ten best Sapphires she could muster was almost as tall as Blue herself, which in all other circumstances would certainly be seen as an insult at best, if not an outright rebellion at worst. And yet, she only felt relief at having someone she could look in the eye.

The important part, the change in the precision and reliability of their predictions, was speaking for itself of course. And she at times found herself wondering whether that would've been enough to prevent the terrible chain of events they had all found themselves trapped in, if they had merely allowed such practices from the very beginning. But no, that would never have happened anyway.

Quite soon after the demonstrated success, she had sought to summon the Star Sapphire assigned to the Crystal Confluence, who still should have been 'seeking the path forward' after giving Blue her dark prediction. To her dismay, it soon became apparent that the seer had vanished from the station without a trace, only leaving a cryptic message to be given specifically to her Diamond in place of her own presence. You will know when to move away.

Her greater Sapphire had quickly shot down any potential plans for finding the missing Gem with a prediction of her own, namely that the grand Oracle would never be found, not unless it was during the proper time, and within the proper place. And so Blue, after taking the potential meanings of the seer's message into consideration, had made plans for her Court. Plans to be ready to leave most of its territory if such a thing would be needed.

Of course some nobles would inevitably decide to move away on their own, or even to change their allegiances. But in the end, that would be for the best.

"And the preparations for evacuating the colonies we will fail to hold?" A breath. Unnecessary, but calming. She could see ice misting through the air as her counterpart exhaled.

"It is…in progress, but we move closer to the final stage. Our bastions have mustered what forces they can put in place, and we stand ready to use them as fallback points as needed." The enormous fusion bowed her head.

"Additionally, our cooperation with selectively chosen White Court commanders also progresses as planned, my Diamond. They have signified their readiness for a counter assault, should it be needed." She paused, as if thinking of what else to add on, before giving a slight, almost imperceptible nod.

"Ah, and the sabotage and counter sabotage teams have settled into their places as well." Good. This way, Yellow's insane designs wouldn't end in the complete ruin of the Empire, at least. Merely in a prolonged war with a very uncertain outcome. So much effort. So many schemes and plans and acts, all for a mere hope of getting a better outcome later. Truly an impeccable achievement on her Court's part.

"…Tell me, my Sapphires, could I have prevented all of this?" The fusion stared at her, blind devotion set within her eye.

"What you did, and what you could have done then, was a result of your knowledge and understanding at that point, Our Diamond." Blue felt fury rearing its ugly head once more, deep inside her sorrow filled gemstone.

"That. Wasn't. What I asked!" It was a mere fraction of the power she knew she could display, and yet the cerulean wave hit the outskirts of the hall, overtaking the Gems unfortunate enough to be caught within it. The stronger ones stood, bracing themselves, even as their weaker counterparts cowered and fell under the weight of conflicting emotions. For the first time in a long, long time, it wasn't just sadness and grief in the wave now. There was rage as well.

Resentment, desperation and perhaps even a drive for change, in part. All present in different tones of it. The Sapphire union stood amidst it all, serene and unperturbed. Something had changed, after becoming their new combined self. Gone was the fear and trepidation her components had once held of Blue before. Instead, in their place was a calmness… and something she was almost willing to call a note of compassion, however absurd the idea might have sounded.

"You're correct, Our Diamond. And yet, that's what you needed to hear." The flare of ire died out as quickly as it had ignited. Blue saw her closest assistants and helpers, helping each other to their feet and composing themselves back into order. She closed her eyes in a twinge of remorse.

"I…I'm sorry. Let us continue, please." After all, even if she was trapped, there was truly only one correct choice. Seek the way out.