#project matriarch

[TRIGGER WARNINGS: Swearing, Threats, Gruesome descriptions of blood, Grief, Implied major character death, detailed depictions of devestaion and mourning the loss of a loved one, implications of gruesome violence, detailed descriptions of panic and anxiety]

Connie paced the dark carpeted floor of her dorm room, muttering to herself as she rubbed her arms. Daniel got up from Patricia’s office chair with a worried expression, placing a hand on Connie’s shoulder.

“You alright, Connie?” Daniel queried with an anxious tone. Patricia seemed as worried as both Connie and Daniel combined as she fumbled with her sleeves, glancing at her phone every now and then.

“He should have been here by now…” Connie muttered, more to herself than anyone else. She paused, then looked up, glancing out the window. With a heavy sigh, she slouched into a sitting position on her bed, bouncing her leg as she lowered her head and ran her fingers through her hair. 

Patricia sighed and placed her laptop beside her. Getting up from her bed, she sat down next to Connie, hugging her. She knew she and Daniel were worried, but Patricia also knew she couldn’t even begin to imagine how Connie felt at that moment. 

“He’s not responding to my texts, I-I haven’t tried calling him yet, but…” Connie trailed off, anxiety twisting her gut and drying out her throat as she tried to think of all the logical reasons Steven wasn’t here yet. 

“Maybe he’s in traffic? Maybe the weather? Phone died on him? I don’t know, there could be millions of reasons more likely than him getting hurt.” Patricia reassured as she pulled out her small purple phone, pressing the power button to check for messages. Daniel nodded in agreement, then walked over to the window, crossing his arms as he stared out at the parking lot a few feet away from the dorm building. Connie knew Patricia was right, but she just couldn’t shake the sinking dread in her chest. 

As Patricia scrolled through her phone, Daniel opened the blinds and peered outside the window, pressing his palms against the windowsill as he leaned over. He watched the cars drive by, squinting his eyes, trying to find Steven’s Dondai in the massive wave of traffic. 

“Yeah, he’s tough. Half Diamond, right? He can take care of himself, he’s done it before. Many times, actually.” Daniel chimed in with a small chuckle, eyes still glued to the intersection.

Connie nodded, rubbing her arms again. Patricia stood up, walking over to her desk. Connie slumped backward onto her blanket and pulled out her phone. As Connie pressed her finger against the power button, dread and anxiety sank deep into her chest when she noticed none of her notifications were messages from Steven. She was Connie Maheswaran; she couldn't help but worry. Overthinking and planning was a trait of hers. The trip to Jayhawk was the first road trip Steven had gone on all by himself. Yes, he was tough, he could always shake off the violent, stray anti-gem person with ease, but he was still vulnerable in a sense, even with the powers of a gem monarch. Closing her eyes, Connie silently prayed that Steven was safe. 

Fifteen painstakingly slow minutes passed as the trio grew more paranoid for their close friend's safety. Connie had texted Steven a few times and even tried to call him. Daniel and Patricia did the same, but no reply. Connie’s anxiety was skyrocketing now. No reply from Steven was NEVER a good thing. He was usually pretty quick with replying, and history had proved that when Steven did not reply, something was happening. As desperately as Connie tried to calm herself down by thinking of reasons Steven would not reply that weren’t life-threatening or world-ending, this was Steven she was talking about. She just couldn’t shake the feeling. It only festered and made her even sicker. 

Unfortunately, the anxious paranoia among the three proved justified when Connie got a call from her phone. At first, she immediately sat up with a hopeful expression, thinking it was Steven. But it wasn’t Steven’s phone number calling her; it wasn’t even a phone number at all. It was a direct call from the Diamond Line code that Peridot had implemented into Connie’s phone, so she could call reinforcements off-planet if it was necessary or the other way around. 

But that was only the first red flag she noticed. Once she answered the call, she tilted her phone as a pink holo-screen emitted from her phone’s screen. The image on the holo-screen was of Spinel. But she had a worried expression on her desaturated pink face, and her dark pink pigtails were droopy, a telltale sign of Spinel being upset. Connie felt a lump in her throat when she saw the horrified look in Spinel’s eyes. Connie answered the call, and Spinel was already speaking in a desperate tone of voice, with black tears welling up in her eyes.

“C-Connie, listen friend, W-we need ya back at Homeworld. R-Right now. I know you have ya, college, or whateva it’s called… B-But you need to see this.” 

Daniel and Patricia exchanged worried looks as Connie nodded with a determined look in her eyes. Her knightly instinct took over, overpowering her fear as she braced herself for a fight. As terrified as Connie was, she knew she had to act, especially if Spinel’s emergency involved Steven and why he wasn’t responding. Connie swiftly grabbed her sword from under her bed and an emergency backpack she always had on hand just in case, turning to Daniel and Patricia before leaving.

“Hold down the fort for me, guys. I’ll be back.”

Daniel and Patricia both nodded with worried expressions and quickly went to their laptops to keep an eye on Steven’s activity. Connie didn’t look too excited either but she swore that she would help when she could. It was a job she took seriously and was dedicated to, no matter what. A role she fulfilled with pride and power. 

Connie hurried down the stairs of the dorm building, swerving around other college students as she made her way down the halls and through the double glass doors leading into the dormitory. Lion was already waiting for her under one of the trees in the courtyard. Lion always had a sixth sense of these things; Lion knew when he was needed and stayed by his allies' side. 

“Alright buddy, we gotta get to the Homeworld warp.”

Lion huffed as his pale pink mane began to flow to a nonexistent breeze and nodded as his eyes and hair glowed white. Stretching open his mouth, he roared as loud as he could. Pink waves of energy shot out from the back of his throat, forming a swirling pink portal over the dormitory’s garden. With another huff: Lion leaped into the portal before it shrunk in on itself, leaving the passerby college students and pedestrians both bewildered and terrified. 

A similar pink portal opened up in the greenhouse connected to Steven and Greg’s home. Lion and Connie popped out of the portal, soaring through the air before landing right next to the baby blue, crystalline warp pad embedded in the floor at the far side of the greenhouse. Lion’s mane and eyes stopped glowing white as the portal closed. Lion wandered over and climbed onto the warp pad, flicking his tail as he turned his head and glanced at Connie. Connie pulled out a small blue warp whistle from her backpack, taking a deep breath before blowing into it.

A few moments later, Connie and Lion were on Homeworld’s surface, stepping off of the Diamond Throne Room’s warp pad. Hopping off of Lion, Connie patted Lion’s head with a small smile.

“Thanks, Lion. You have earned your naps for today.” Connie said with a chuckle before kissing Lion’s forehead. Lion yawned and settled down, curling all four paws underneath his fuzzy chest before closing his eyes and curling his tail around his body. 

Connie glanced at the shimmering floors of the Diamond Throne Room, feeling a lump form in her throat. She took a deep breath in through the nose, and exhaled through the mouth as she turned to face the Diamond’s thrones. Four large crystalline thrones sat atop gorgeous white stairs. Connie curled her fingers into tight fists, taking another deep breath before walking forward. Looking around, she arched a brow, noticing there was no one in the giant gem-made room. This room was usually filled with a crowd or two… Where was everybody?

Connie tensed, gripping her sword handle as she slid her left foot back, grounding herself and lowering her body when swift footsteps echoed throughout the hall. She squinted her eyes, creasing her brows as she scanned the room for anything suspicious. Her expression softened however, once she noticed a familiar pink gem running towards her from the entrance behind Blue Diamond's throne. 

“Connie! Thank the stars-” Spinel yelled from across the room as she hurried over to Connie, stopping dead in her tracks mere inches away from Connie. 

“Spinel! What’s wrong?” Connie responded with a worried tone. She stretched out her arms for a hug. Spinel usually liked to hug people as a greeting gesture, but this time Spinel’s hug only lasted seconds; when it usually lasted minutes, accompanied by a few cheerful hellos. 

“I-I’m sorry, Cons, I don’t have time to explain- Just follow me and stay close,” Spinel said under her breath, speaking only to Connie as her anxious gaze darted around the room. A team of Amethyst Guards, Bismuth, and Peridot burst through the door leading to the entrance behind Blue Diamond’s throne with panicked looks on their faces. 

“SPINEL! You can NOT just run off like that in a situation like- Connie!” Peridot exclaimed and immediately hurried up to Connie’s side, grabbing her hand and practically dragging the poor human along with her.

“No time to explain, we gotta go and we gotta go now . White called us all for an emergency meeting, and considering what was hinted in her message, I wouldn’t be surprised if this room was rigged as a trap. Lion!” Peridot whistled and yelled across the room, but Lion was already sprinting his way towards the small huddle of Gems, catching up to them in no time. He stayed at the back, glancing around every now and then as they dashed through the building. 

Connie stumbled and stuttered over her terrified questions as the Amethyst guards and Bismuth surrounded her, Spinel, and Peridot. Connie reached out her free hand and held Spinel’s hand in an attempt to calm them both. The feeling of dread, fear, and impending doom was too strong now. It made her head throb and her chest tighten to a sickening degree. Something was wrong. VERY wrong. The Amethyst Guards and Bismuth already had destabilizers and their personal gem-summoned weapons at the ready, and even THEY looked scared. Bismuth was a tough gem, and Connie had never seen her scared before. But Bismuth barely said a word the whole time. 

As they sprinted through the abandoned halls of the Diamond’s castle, Bismuth led them through a back alley route that led directly to White Diamond’s room. 

White’s room was a room that Connie had never seen before. It was similar to all the other Diamond rooms, as expected. But the difference was the blinding white coloration. Although, there was one spot in the room that wasn’t white. At the center of the room was a pool of fresh crimson and pink blood. The scent of iron and decay hit Connie as soon as she stepped foot in the room. 

The smell in the air made her recoil as she clapped her hands over her mouth in a desperate attempt to filter out the putrid stench. Amethyst guards joined their fellow quartzes, guarding every wall and entrance to the room. Agates and many other powerful gems lined the walls, weapons at their sides. But everybody in the room, even the Agates, were shaking with pure terror in their eyes at the grim sight before them.

Greg, the Crystal Gems, Lapis, hell even the Off Colors were surrounding the devastated diamond on her knees in front of them. White Diamond was knelt down beside the puddle of blood with a blank look on her face, blood slowly seeping through her fingertips as she clutched something in her shaking hands as if it were her lifeline. She glanced at Connie, then to Greg. Her right hand folded over her left: she gave Connie and Greg one more glance, the broken, glazed-over look in her darkened gray eyes sending shivers down the human’s spines. Finally, her gaze rested on the Crystal Gems as she wordlessly lifted her right hand, revealing a gruesome, disturbing image.  

Resting in her ghost-white palm were fragments of a pink gem. Chunks of pink-hued diamond smashed to pieces and coated in blood. But not the blood of a human. The blood was pink and red. The blood in her hand was Steven's. And the broken gem resting in White Diamond's hand was Steven's gemstone. You could barely even tell it was a gem from all the blood. But the mixed hues of crimson and fuchsia pink were a telltale sign that the blood belonged to Steven. 

Before: the room echoed with terrified whispers, gossip, and questions about what the hell was happening, but as soon as White uncovered the blood-covered shards, a heavy, deafening silence settled in the room.

“We found Pink’s Gem in the throne room. Broken and covered In blood… She’s gone.” White spoke with an empty voice, blankly staring down at the carnage nestled in the crook of her palm. 

Connie’s eyes stretched open wide; as her body trembled and buckled from the weight of the realization, rage, despair, and depression that hit her harder than a comet smashing into the surface of the earth. She had a feeling this situation was about Steven, but she did not expect the news to involve her best friend being mercilessly crushed to pieces. 

Connie fell to her knees, her sword slipping out of her backpack and hitting the floor with a loud clang that made everyone, Gem and human, visibly flinch. Her vision blurred as the horrified screams, crying, and yelling from Greg and the Crystal Gems became muffled, tears streaming down Connie’s face.

Connie looked down at her shaking hands as tears streamed down her face. She was in such a state of shock her brain hadn’t even processed the horrifying news fully, but her body was shutting down. She felt a bile rise in her throat as she clenched her teeth, squeezed her eyes shut, and pressed her hands into her ears, desperately trying to block out all the mortified and devastated screams from Greg. Lapis, Bismuth, and Peridot immediately ran up to Connie’s side, trying to get her attention and calm her down but to no avail. Peridot, Bismuth, and Lapis struggled to keep themselves composed, shaking and crying as much as Connie was as they tried to reassure her. 

“MY SON! THAT’S MY SON- PLEASE- PLEASE NO… NO!”

Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst tried to hold Greg back from running up to White, but they were struggling too. White cracks were rapidly spreading across their light-composed bodies. Greg eventually gave up, falling to his hands and knees as he sobbed so hard a bone-splitting migraine began to form. He had yelled so much that his voice was shot, and all he could do was mumble and sob into his hands as he leaned over and broke down. 

“Not my son… M-My son isn’t g-gone, P-Please tell me he’s-” Greg begged and choked through sobs, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head as Pearl and Amethyst tried to comfort him. Garnet clenched her teeth, curling her fingers into tight fists as light enveloped her hands and morphed into her gauntlets. Her visor cracked and shattered, poofing out of existence, her petrified, tearful gaze morphing into frenzied rage. 

“Who did this…” Garnet muttered angrily under her breath, her hands trembling with how tense they were.

“WHO DID THIS!?” Garnet yelled with desperation and anger in her voice. She flinched and yelled in pain, her visor disappearing as her body began to crack, distort, then split into two separate entities made up of misshapen light forms with a Ruby Gem on one and a Sapphire Gem on the other. The glowing white lights morphed into Ruby and Sapphire with deep white cracks on their bodies. Sapphire froze the ground around her as she sobbed, while the floor around Ruby went up in flames. 

“DID YOU DO THIS?! I’LL SHATTER YOU! I’LL SH-SHATTER… I-I’ll…” Ruby stuttered, trailing off when she felt a cold hand on her shoulder. It was Sapphire, but her eye wasn’t on Ruby. Her gaze was fixated on the blood. She was shaking with a hand over her mouth. Ruby immediately sobbed and hugged her. Pearl and Amethyst hugged each other, sobbing, seconds away from poofing as deep white fissures continued to spread across their quivering bodies. Neither of them had the strength to even speak. Lapis stood up, her teeth clenched, a dark shadow over her eyes. Tears ran like waterfalls down her navy blue complexion, pure rage in her darkened eyes that shot daggers at White Diamond. 

“White. Answer the fucking question. Who did this to Steven?" Lapis growled through gritted teeth as water shot out from her back, morphing into wings. Volleyball, who was behind White, stepped forward. The cracks over her eye had spread, and she had a sorrowful expression. Holding up her hands in a defensive gesture, she took a few cautious steps closer to Lapis, who glared at her. 

“W-We don’t know what happened, Lapis… M-Me and White walked in here and found P-Pinks Ge-”

“Steven’s Gem . ” Lapis interrupted with a snarl and a manic look in her eyes. Volleyball flinched and trembled in response. 

“Y-Yes, Sorry, S-Steven’s gem. I-It was broken and covered I-In that… Awful smelling s-substance.”

“It’s blood, Volleyball… It’s a liquid inside of humans that carries n-nutrients across their body a-and keeps them alive.” Peridot interjected with a shaken voice, eyes glued to the bloody gem pieces. 

“I-If they lose too much, then…” Peridot shuddered, breaking down into tears as she gripped her wrist and lowered her head. Lapis only grew angrier, but Volleyball body-blocked her from White, desperately trying to ease the water gem’s irritation. 

“L-Lapis please, I was with her, W-White did not do this.”

“THEN WHO DID?! WHO ELSE HAS THE POWER TO SHATTER A DIAMOND!?” Lapis yelled, making Volleyball recoil in fear. Amethyst was the first one to go. She shook her head and screamed in pain, pressing her hands against her ears as the cracks on her body eventually overwhelmed her. Pearl reached out and grabbed Amehyst’s gemstone before it hit the floor, hugging it close to her chest as her body disintegrated into white clouds. 

“PEARL! AMETHYST!” Ruby yelled, dashing forward and catching their gemstones. Sapphire fell to her knees, looking down at her shaking hands. How could she not have seen this? Why couldn’t Sapphire see anything else? She couldn’t focus, couldn’t look forward. She could only focus on the enraged and devastated thoughts swirling in her gemstone: and her lover’s embrace as Ruby hugged her tight with Pearl and Amethyst gemstones in her hand. 

Peridot was the next one to poof. She shook her head, falling to her knees and hands as she cried out before the sorrow destroyed her completely, but her choked sobs got cut short when her body crumbled under the sheer weight of her anguish. Bismuth rushed forward and caught her gem, but the poor weaponsmith was moments away from cracking too. Bismuth held Peridot’s gem close to her, putting her free hand on Greg’s shoulder, but she couldn’t say anything. Words only got caught in her throat, coming out as ever-flowing tears. 

Volleyball shook her head as tears formed in her eyes. “L-Lapis- P-Please-” Volleyball begged as White Diamond’s Agate’s stepped forward, aiming their destabilizers at Lapis.

“This wasn’t us. I-I promise. I swear to the stars, w-we wouldn’t let this happen.”

Lapis growled, her chest heaving as her eyes filled with tears once more. She sighed in defeat, looking down at her hands with devastation in her eyes. 

“W-We think it’s a warning, L-Lapis… Someone killed Steven and p-put his broken gem on display for all of us. We found it, right in the c-center of White's room.” Volleyball stuttered, desperately, practically begging, glancing over to White. White was quiet with tears in her eyes, shaking like a leaf in the wind as she stared down at the pieces in her shaking hand. 

“... Then we find the one who did this. We find them, and we take them out.” Connie muttered through heaving breaths and sobs. Spinel peeked out from her hiding spot behind Lion; and walked up to Connie’s side, kneeling beside her. Connie sniffled and broke down again, hugging Spinel. She was angry and terrified, but most of all, she was heartbroken. Steven was the first friend Connie ever had. The reason she grew into the badass woman she is today. The first lover she ever had. And now he was gone. Just like that, in the blink of an eye. 

She hugged Spinel tighter as the memories flooded back into her head. Memories of them as kids battling monsters, rescuing people, singing, dancing, fusing, and messing around. Meeting him was the best thing that ever happened to her. It didn’t matter what had happened when he grew up. The proposal, the corruption, they’d been through heaven, hell, and back together. Steven wasn’t someone she ever thought she’d take for granted, but the moment Connie realized he was gone, Connie knew that she did. Regrets, nostalgia, rage, fear, and depression stacked up at that moment, hitting her harder than anything that had ever harmed her in the past. And it hurt her a thousand times worse. No monster, sickness, injury, or emotion was as excruciating as the pain she felt at that moment.

It took the group a whole day to calm down and recuperate. Greg was upstairs with Priyanka, Doug, and mayor Nanafua. The Crystal Gems and the Off Colors mobilized on the beach, trying to think of a plan. Connie was with them, but her mind was far off. Her eyes, head, and throat hurt from screaming and sobbing, and she was barely awake. She stared off into the ocean with an exhausted, glazed-over look in her eyes. Amethyst rested a hand on her shoulder in a silent gesture of reassurance.  

“Nanafua will help us with funeral preparations. But we need all hands on deck at all times to track down the one who took Steven.” Garnet said finally, cutting through the tense silence. Everyone nodded in agreement.

“We don’t have anything yet… But we can’t give up. We can’t just let this slide. Steven will not die in vain.” Bismuth added with a shaky voice as more tears welled up in her eyes. The group nodded once more with expressions mixed with enraged determination and sorrow. Pearl clutched the fabric of Steven’s old t-shirt in her hands, rubbing her thumb over the faded star pattern. Furrowing her brows, she squeezed her eyes shut to let out the last bit of her tears before she lifted her head and glared at the floor with seething hatred. 

“I will not stop until we find those monsters,” Pearl growled, looking over at Bismuth while shaking with tears in her wide enraged eyes. From their facial expressions alone, it was clear that everyone shared Pearl’s malevolence toward Steven's assailants. 

“I think we know who to start with.” Garnet spoke up, rage in her voice as she looked over at the sunset. 

“Nanafua, the president, and the military have eyes on the 2nd Armada. But we all know who has the power to shatter a being as powerful as Steven. And it’s the Diamonds themselves.” Garnet said finally. 

Lapis growled and shuddered. Peridot gently held her hand, looking up at her with worry in her eyes. Lapis sighed and crossed her arms as Bismuth nodded in agreement. 

“We will pull together a group to investigate Homeworld. But I think some of our allies need some rest first.” Bismuth commented dejectedly, looking over at Connie, who hadn’t even noticed Bismuth was talking about her. 

Garnet walked over to Connie, kneeling down in front of her, gently taking her hands in her own after removing her visor. She stared at Connie’s hands for a moment, taking a deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth. All three of her eyes met Connie’s two dark ones, tears welling up in both Garnet and Connie’s eyes. Connie was seconds from bursting into tears once more, but she fought the tears as hard as she could. Squeezing her hands, Garnet gave Connie a small reassuring smile. 

Connie finally got the hint, and glanced over to Bismuth with a determined look in her eyes. 

“No. I can take this. I need to-” Connie was interrupted by Garnet framing her face with her hands. Connie felt Sapphire and Ruby’s gems on either side of her face, the cold, hard, glassy surface making her flinch again. Her eyes filled with tears again when she faced Garnet. All three of Garnet’s eyes had tears in them, but her smile was warm enough to break through Connie’s fragile tough facade.

“I can… I-I can…” Connie began, but choked on her sobs as tears ran down her cheeks. Garnet closed her eyes, and pressed her forehead to Connie’s. 

“Steven loved you. With everything he had. Everything. But you need time to grieve, Connie. A living being such as yourself can only handle so much pain before they break. You’re family to us as well, love. and we can’t lose you too.” Garnet said genuinely, her voice breaking a little. She pulled Connie into a tight hug, kissing the top of her head as more tears began to flow. Amethyst, Pearl, Lapis, Peridot, and Bismuth hugged Garnet and Connie, lowering their heads as they embraced their family. 

“And you know him. He’ll be rolling in his grave if he knew you tore yourself apart to try and avenge him.” Lars said with a sad smile and tears in his eyes. Rhodonite and Padparadscha hugged Lars, Fluorite lowering her head as she spoke. 

“Yes indeed. He won’t rest easy knowing you are under duress, my dear.” 

Connie chuckled, wiping away tears from her eyes. Everyone else did the same. 

“He really would.” Pearl added with a sad smile on her face. Bismuth chuckled once more with a sniffle, wrapping an arm around Pearl’s shoulders. 

“He will live on. In our memory, our hearts, our gems, and in everything he built and stood for. Every gem he saved. Every human he saved. He won’t be forgotten. We will put him to rest, and those who dared to hurt him will face retribution.” Garnet said as she squeezed Connie’s hands once more, looking up at her face-to-face. Connie smiled and nodded, sniffling as she wiped away more tears. 

“Steven will be avenged, and he will rest easy, we’ll make sure of that. I promise” Garnet whispered to Connie, squeezing her hands one more time before the group took a moment of silence in respect and memoriam.

Art for chapter 2 have been finished and posted!! Super proud of both of them tbfh, I hope you guys like them too!