Dark Tidings

Lazuli returned to her Sanctuary while the sun was still high in the sky. She mumbled about being dragged out of her home for a trivial reason that could have been handled on that stupid Pearl’s own. The only thing Lazuli would have needed to do was unlock the door and then leave, but she knew if she would have tried to leave, that Pearl would have stopped her and begged her to talk to Smokey. She sighed annoyed at the turn of events after that. The stupid Quartz’s words and then the Pearl interjecting anyway and professing her undying love to the idiotic Quartz. She had left the moment the Quartz returned the Pearl’s embrace, unable to watch the nauseating scene any longer. She walked into the main area and sighed. Astrophyllite was still gone and it had been a few days already. If she had to guess, it would be another few days before Astro would even consider returning. Quite honestly, she was surprised Astro returned at all. Fluorite was gone and Lazuli knew Fluorite was the only reason Astrophyllite stayed around for as long as she did, but now she had no real reason to stick around. She sighed again and headed towards her vault. She didn’t know why, but it felt like a daily routine that she would go in there and look at the shattered remains of her best friend and then the shattered remains of all the other gems that had come to take them back to White Diamond. She arrived at her vault and reached out to brush the undergrowth out of her way when a figure stepped out of the brush. Lazuli jumped back a few feet, startled. She looked up at the intruder and saw it was none other than Labradorite and she was holding Lazuli’s blue bubble with Fluorite’s shattered gem in it. “What are you doing here?” Lazuli yelled out. “And why do you have that bubble?” Labradorite smiled. “Because, darling little farseer, I lost a little device I was working on and I was running short a few gem shards. I knew better than going to the Crystal Gems basement, but I did remember that you keep your bubbled prisoners in some undergrowth. No security or anything. So, I’ve been for my chance to steal a few away.” “There are at least three dozen other bubbles you can take, just don’t take that one!” Lazuli begged. She couldn’t let Labradorite take her best friend away for whatever monstrous thing she was working on, but compared to Labradorite, she was an insect, a bug that could easily be swatted away. “Oh, I know,” she whispered with a dark grin. “However, I am in need of gems with special little powers like darling little Fluorite, White Diamond’s prized little wishgranter. But, I had hoped for you,” Labradorite whispered darkly as she shot her free hand out and grabbed Lazuli’s face. “What are you-?!” Lazuli cried out, but was silenced by Labradorite. She watched helplessly as Labradorite crept her hand up to her gem and placed her fingers around it, not touching it. “What I wouldn’t give for White Diamond’s prize gem, her seeress that could look into the future perfectly. You would work far better than your flawed friend, but at the same time, it’d be a shame to waste a promising gem such as you,” Labradorite whispered as she placed her index finger in the center of Lazuli’s gem. “Sweet nightmares, prophetess,” Labradorite cooed as she walked away from Lazuli. Lazuli wanted to follow her, to get her friend back, but she couldn’t find the strength to move. She watched as Labradorite disappeared into darkness along with the rest of the world.