Asteria Dimond And The Era 1 War (part 1)

Asteria Diamond: Garnet's pov (part 2)

Garnet focused hard on the mission, not wanting to think about the torture and horror she had witnessed. This was not helped by her future vision showing her all of the different ways this could fail. But she also saw the ways, few as they were, that they succeeded, and she knew they had to try. Pearl was worth it, and she wanted the gem to know it. Especially with everything the Renegade has been going through the last few days. She couldn't imagine being forced into slavery once more after years of freedom.

There were several teams all breaking into the ship at the same time. Some would free the captured, some would fight off any guards, and some would sabotage. Garnet and Bismuth's main goal was to find Pearl. As she had predicted, there were few guards around, all of the soldiers out looking for them. They fought their way to the right room and broke in. The sight of Pearl curled up on the floor in a little ball made her gems ache with sympathy. Bismuth carefully reached out and put a hand on Pearl's arm. She only startled slightly, and Garnet had never been happier to see such tired blue eyes. The slightest bit of subdued spark shone in Pearl's eyes as she looked up at them, a fragile smile tugging at the smaller gem's lips. Bismuth practically cried in joy, scooping Pearl up into a crushing hug and telling her how glad they were to see her. Garnet seconded that, joining in on the hug and taking a moment to check her future vision.

"I'm sorry." Came Pearl's voice, softer than she had ever heard her speak. Bismuth was trying to ask Pearl what she meant, but the gem only clung to them harder. It was all drowned out for Garnet, as she could see exactly why she was sorry. "We can't get back out..." She almost whispered in horror. How could she not have seen this?! "What?" Bismuth asked, " What do you mean?!" "... We were almost always able to get in... But now we can't get out." "What do you mean?! I thought-!" "There's something around the ship. No one can get in or out. This was all a trap." Before Bismuth could freak out or yell anymore, Pearl shifted between them to hold onto her. The soft blue eyes looking up at her were filled with sadness, but they were alive in a way they hadn't been in the video. "Garnet, it's not your fault. She knows about your future vision, and she knows how to get around it."

They were all silent as the situation sunk in. Garnet pulled Pearl into a tight hug, trying desperately to find a future where they get out. No matter how hard she strains, all she can see is the end of her future vision as she splits apart—the bright white light of fusion and then nothing. The door opened, and immediately Bismuth was between them and the Diamond, weapons out and ready for a fight she would surely lose. "There is no need for that now Bismuth," the Diamond's musical voice spoke softly. Despite that softness, her voice reverberated around the room like a drum, impossible to ignore. "Come here my Pearl." And Garnet could do nothing but watch as Pearl walked daintily into the Diamond's arms. Bismuth was yelling threats, but Garnet's mind was going a mile a minute. Her eyes were still fairly clear. She wasn't under her control, just like she had predicted. But she still went to her when she called. Bismuth was the one yelling and pacing and putting on a show, but the Diamond's eyes were on her as she thought through the puzzle.

"What have you done?" She asked as calmly as she could. "It was nothing I did necessarily. Just existing was enough. Pearl, be a dear and show your friends what your first master had you wear." Pearl looked uncomfortable but did as she was told. The clothes of her form brightened and shifted, and a moment later, she was looking at Pink Diamond's Pearl. The puzzle pieces smashed into place. "You belonged to Pink... so now you belong to her... but how..?" There was no need to articulate further. Everyone knew what she was asking. How had Pearl escaped? How had she followed Rose? How was she now bound to this new Diamond? If it were purely a question of loyalty, then they wouldn't be having this conversation. Pearl might have been in love with Rose, but she wouldn't just sit there and take this because of her. "Do either of you understand how pearls work?" The Diamond asked, one hand curled possessively around Pearl's shoulder and back. "Pearls are created with the inability to disobey a direct order from their owner. It doesn't matter what it is; if it is ordered of them, they will do it." The Renegade's eyes were downcast, and her friend made no move to try and remove the touch from herself.

"Well, our Pearl is the Renegade!" Bismuth protested, "you can call it a defect all you want, but Pearl is greater than anything you could ever have thought she could be!" "Oh, I didn't say that they weren't. Just because they are incapable of disobedience doesn't mean they aren't intelligent or resourceful. Pearls are some of the most crafty and adaptable gems out there. They can find loopholes in orders they don't like and do things they were never originally designed to do with more ease than most. But even that can only get you so far." "No..." Garnet whispered in horror. Please, don't let it be! It made sense, but please! She didn't want that to be the truth for her friend! "She was created to serve her Diamond, and her Diamond told her to serve Rose. And so she did. She learned to fight, and she learned to speak to others like equals, and she learned to shift the clothing of her form as she went from one master to another. She learned to imagine things and have thoughts and dreams and hopes, all without anyone there to tell her to do it. But at the end of the day, she is and always has been a Diamond's pearl." The Diamond's hand wandered up Pearl's body until it reached her gem. Pearl shuddered harshly at the touch and blinked rapidly as a kiss was pressed into her hair. "*My* Pearl." Garnet could feel the way the Diamond's words vibrated around the room. Pearl let out the smallest sound, almost a mewl, and her eyes started to haze once more as she leaned back against her Diamond. "Rose was working with Pink Diamond?!?" Bismuth asked the room at large in disbelief, glaring at the pink gem touching their friend. "That isn't what's important right now Bismuth!" Garnet snapped, still desperately trying to find a way out. "It seems pretty important to me! What about the war!? The rebellion!? Was there even a rebellion to begin with!?"

Before Garnet could attempt to steady the panicking Bismuth, pink bubbles flowered into place around them. She hit the one around her with her fist, but she knew from her future vision that she was not strong enough to break it. This was a Diamond's bubble, none of them had the power to break it on their own. The bubbles started to float, and the Diamond carried them off. Bismuth continued to try and break the one holding her, and Pearl walked placidly along at her Diamond's side. As they walked through the ship they saw the others get bubbled as well. Some were already in a bubble, some were bubbled as the Diamond caught sight of them, and others were brought to the Diamond's feet by homeworld soldiers. There seemed to be quite a few more than she had seen, both on their way in and in her future vision. Another sign that this has been a huge trap. They were brought to a room in the ship, but Garnet had no clue what it was for. Their bubbles were put off to one side of the room, and Pearl was made to stand on the other. The Diamond hummed, a low reverberating chime that felt like it shook her as it passed through her form and sunk into the walls. With seemingly no warning a tilted restraint table slid out of the wall with a clink. Garnet immediately knew that this was a room for "taming" gems. Even knowing for a while that this was to be her fate, she still felt surprised. It felt too soon.

Her bubble started to move, and she shot Bismuth a panicked look. As the bubble started to flatten and line her up with the diagonal slab she took a deep breath and fixed her face into a solid mask. She would give her captor nothing for as long as she could. She would stay strong for everyone, and she would stay strong for herself. She would not let this Diamond tear her apart. The bubble popped and the restraints tightened at the same time, leaving her trapped. But unlike the bubble, she was completely exposed like this. She strained against the table, but it did her no good. Loops of what she assumes is some kind of metal entrapped her, pink bands pushing down against her ankles and thighs and abdomen and chest and biceps and wrists and neck. Her wrists and neck were the worst, as it made it hard to move her head and exposed her gems. She clenched her fist tightly and tried to keep her gauntlets up, but a single tap from the Diamond's claw made them explode into a shower of sparkling light. The Diamond made a sound like a song, somewhere between a hum and a purr. It sank into her like she was soaking up rain. The sparkling flame and sharp icy edges were filled down inside her, not trying to tear her apart like she had expected, but instead trying to drag her down into peaceful apathy. Finding herself somewhere between uncomfortably grounded in the present and having a sirens song luring her into something along the lines of meditation, she didn't notice that her hands had unclenched until large hands held hers open and *pressed*. She screamed and thrashed as a Diamond's power sunk straight into her gems, desperately fighting the lie of peace and calm and safety. She knew, she *knew* that it was all a lie, that she would be split apart and shattered if she gave in, but it was *oh* so tempting. She knew if she stopped moving, if she stopped struggling, then she wouldn't be able to resist. She could hear Bismuth shouting, and tried to focus on that. She was Garnet, and she would not let this tear her apart. The Diamond's soft lips touched the skin just above her third eye, and it was like she was having a compulsory vision.

It was her, but from Rose's perspective. The wonder of seeing a cross fusion for the first time, the pride as she summoned her gauntlets and learned to use them, the worry at seeing them unfused, the joy at seeing her fused once more and playing with some new recruits, the care as she was hugged close, safe in the knowledge that she was accepted for who she was.

She blinked hard, aware of the world around her once more. She had stopped struggling, and while powerful calm was still pouring over her like a waterfall, she found that she was no longer afraid of it. This being might be a Diamond, but she was also Rose. And she had made it clear to Garnet that she did not want to hurt her. She was not disgusted by her existence, she did not want to rip her apart, she didn't even want to control her. She wanted to keep her safe. She had always trusted Rose. She wasn't about to stop now. She relaxed and let down her walls, falling headfirst into the river of soothing song.

After a while with nothing but Bismuth's muffled voice to tell that time was passing a kiss was once more pressed into her forehead. This time there were no discernible images or memories, just feelings and ideas. She was a fusion of love, and that was beautiful. She was not just Sapphire and Ruby sharing a body, but the embodiment of their relationship. This meant that while Garnet wouldn't do things against Ruby or Sapphire's will, she was not them, and they were not her. They could still be together even when they weren't fused. Their love for each other would not die. There is a difference between separate and apart. "Garnet." Asteria Diamond called to her. Blinking her eyes open she took in what she had just been given. The information was pure and raw, no room for lies or deceit. She wanted her to unfuse, but would not force her to. She was asking for permission. Permission to talk to Ruby and Sapphire as themselves. Laced with reassurances that just because they unfused didn't mean she disappeared, and how even if they were pulled apart their love would live on. Knowing that this Diamond was somewhat a cross fusion herself, Garnet decided to trust her. "Yes my Diamond." She responded. Fusion with Rose or not, this was not the time to skip respect. "Unfuse for me." The restraints holding her sank back into the slab. "Yes my Diamond." She said, and for the first time that she can remember she intentionally and calmly reached for the bright white light in her palms and unfused.

Ruby and Sapphire are held by only a single restraint each, their gemless hands pinned close enough to touch. Asteria goes to Ruby first, knowing her emotions are more likely to burst outward in flames. Asteria communicates with a mix of some soft words and informational kisses to the Ruby's gem. Her song sings calm into the gems around her, and she encourages the unfused gem's love for each other in and out of fusion. Both gems are made aware that there will be times when they need to unfuse, but for the most part, as long as they are healthy about it, they can remain as Garnet most of the time. Having reassurance, a plan, and Diamond given permission lifts both gems spirits. As soon as Asteria gives the word they refuse, and Garnet properly swears her loyalty to the new cause. Asteria rewards her with another kiss and a note of deep song, which has her in a state of deep meditation while Bismuth has her turn.

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Part 6

Family from another world

(Please note that I have not fully watched all of Arcane.)

Travel between worlds looks different. This way people keep their own bodies. Isha ends up in the peaceful au, freaking everyone out when she calls Powder Mama. Soon enough Warwick and Savika come crashing in, causing even more drama.

Bloody Claws - BlackFoy - Arcane: League of Legends (Cartoon 2021) [Archive of Our Own]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62257153

Tags and sneak peek below the cut

The Tamed Hound

Silco knows that he has to do something about Vander, but he can't bring himself to kill the man. Not when he still holds affection for him, even after what he did. Plus, the man had children, two of whom were her children, which made things ten times more complicated. In the end, he decided on a plan that would bring the Hound to heel, boost his own reputation, and allow Vader the chance to stay by his side.

Silco kidnaps Powder first, as she's the smallest and easiest to grab without hurting her. He gives her a light sleeping drug and puts a shock collar on her before using her to force Vander and the other children to surrender themselves. They are all collared, and the children are put in a comfortable but locked room under guard. Vader is taken away by Silco for some much-needed conversation and... persuasion. By the time Silco is done with him, the Hound knows his position and is at least somewhat willing to cooperate. Silco knows this man almost better than he knows himself, and once Vader understands that he will be loved as Silco's pet and his children will be cared for, then he will work to keep himself here. That kind of loyalty is exactly what Silco needs to combat the Chem-barons.

Of course, first, he is going to have to deal with the early stages of fear and lashing out, especially from the children. None of the children are pleased to get their father back, bruised and limping and submissive in a way none of them had seen before. Violet is the first one to lash out, as expected, although Vander's warnings did keep her back for a few days. Unfortunately, she could only take so much watching Vader get humiliated before she snapped. He could see the fear in Vader's eyes when the girl was shocked. It was a light shock, just enough to stop her from punching his lights out like she had intended, but he knew that her cries affected the others nonetheless. He takes her away, ignoring the sting of Vander's fear. Normally, it was a balm on his traumatized soul, but right now, he could read Vader's fear like a book, and he did not like what he read. He made no move to soothe him, not while his followers surrounded them, but for once, he really wanted to. Part of him scoffed at the idea he knew was running through Vader's head that he would punish his daughter like he had punished him. He wanted to believe that Vander would never think that of him, but apparently, he had changed more than he had realized. Because while he could still read Vander like a book, Vander could no longer do the same with him. No matter, when the girl came back, untraumatized and in one piece, he would relax, and hopefully, his loyalty would further strengthen.

Don't meet your gods

(Please note that I have not fully watched all of Arcane.)

Season 1 Arcane ends up with visitors from an alternate timeline/the future. They end up with several different people from different walks of life, but they all treat Viktor strangely. Viktor believes that it is because of his disability, but in reality, they hear Jayce the Defender call him Viktor and realize that they are in the presence of the Machine Herald in human form. He is basically a god where they are from, and they don’t know how to handle meeting him in the flesh.

The Wolves of Warwick

Time/dimension travel causes the wolves involved in creating Warwick to suddenly gain a level of sentience they did not have before, along with an urge to protect their human pack. They still see Vader as one of them even though he is human and doesn't remember being Warwick with them, and therefore his cubs are their cubs. The wolves can speak, although it is in broken sentences like Warwick, and they don't typically talk to many others outside of their pack.

Vander is meeting up with some people to try and broker peace with the Uppercity. Of course, his wolves come with him. He was hoping they would work as intimidation and protection, but instead, they insist on gently kidnapping one of the Counciler's children.

Machine Herald Jayce

(Please note that this was written after only having watched some of Arcane and before season 2 started.)

Machine Herald Viktor kidnaps a wounded Defended of Tomorrow Jayce and makes him one of them. The two manage to relearn how to be together, Jayce realizing that Viktor never stopped loving him, and Viktor figuring out how to explain himself to Jayce. The only problem is that nobody but Jayce knows who the Machine Herald is and Jayce's friends and family are not happy about his kidnapping.

Powder's Jinxers

A bunch of Jinxers travel back in time. All of them are very confused, and it is causing chaos. Sevika manages to calm everything down by corralling them into the Last Drop and dropping Powder on the counter with some trinkets. She encourages her to talk about her inventions, and with a captive audience, she really gets going. After a while, Vander sends her to bed, and they have a meeting of time travelers plus Vander, since he’s one of the original revolutionaries and everything directly involves him and his family.

Time travel for the adult kiddies

(Please note that this was written after only having watched some of Arcane and before season 2 started.)

The main four kids, Ekko, Jinx, Vi, and Katlyn, end up dumped in the past due to experiments. They are at a point where they are all on good terms with each other and are basically adults by this point. They are dumped into the scene where Silco is using his monster to attack Vander and the children, right before Powder blows them all up. Vi immediately figures out where they are and delegates them all to a task. She sends Jinx to go stop her father and his pet monster from killing them, with Katlyn watching her back from said monster. She sends Ekko to go help Vander and the kids escape, hopefully, they will recognize him enough to let him in. Vi herself goes to find Powder to hopefully keep her lack of understanding of Hextech and bomb safety from killing them all.

Asteria Diamond: Jasper and Pearl (part 4)

Jasper takes her place under Asteria Diamond fairly well, especially when the Diamond's power is used on her, but she does not adjust to the Crystal Gems and their ideas so easily. There are a few skirmishes here and there, just enough to have Jasper get a taste for Asteria's brand of punishment, but things really kick off when Jasper insults Pearl. Pearl, having just gotten concrete confirmation that she was allowed to defend herself, waits her out for a moment before summoning a sword and proofing Jasper with a single swipe. She goes to her Diamond to make sure she isn't in trouble and to ask what to do next, and Asteria decides it would be best to beat out the more violent prejudice sooner rather than later.

Asteria, with pearls permission, tests something that they think Rose had done on accident a few times. Pearl is given an order to go along with her fight, which means any time she might have slipped her coding automatically corrects her, keeping her from getting as hurt in the fight. The advantage is slight, but enough to beat Jasper. So Jasper reforms in an arena with Pearl at the other end, waiting for her. They spar three times, Jasper losing all three times. The first time Pearl just poofs her again, the second time they spar for a bit longer so that Pearl can get a good grasp of her fighting style, and the third one is just Pearl making an example of the buff gem. Seeing as Jasper is one of the most powerful gems on the ship everyone learns that day not to mess with Asteria Diamond's Pearl. Jasper admits that Pearl is a strong warrior, but that is as far as she goes. She still has many negative beliefs about others.

Next time Jasper acts up, horribly insulting one of the Crystal Gems which quickly gets physical, she is told by her Diamond that her punishment would be handled by her Pearl. Jasper isn't thrilled, but she's not as insulted as she would have been before Pearl defeated her. Pearl was waiting for her in a sparring room. She was told that she was allowed to move around and be defensive, but she couldn't fight back or summon her weapon. She isn't happy about this but doesn't have time to complain as Pearl immediately attacked. She was using a rounded blade so her strikes hurt, but wouldn't slice through Jasper's form. She took the beating for a while, but eventually she got fed up and fought back. Pearl immediately stopped the fight and chastised her, instructing her to put her hands through the holes in one of the walls. Chains fastened themselves around Jasper's wrists, diamond hard, and Pearl gave her a few good wacks before leaving. After a while she came back, and they did it again. Eventually Jasper stopped trying to fight back, and was worked until she dropped. Just barely not poofed, but exhausted enough that she laid down on the ground and gave up. She half expected Pearl to keep hitting her, but after a few fairly soft thwacks her surrender was accepted. Pearl sat on her back and started to talk to her as she messed with her hair. The action made her want to growl and puff up, but by this point she had learned her place. Pearl talked about her lack of respect for others, and how it all came from a lack of respect for herself. Jasper wanted to deny it, but she was too tired to fight even a verbal battle at this point. Pearl talks her through some big thoughts, before just staying silent. Most of Jasper's hair is braided by the time she is strong enough to lift herself, and Pearl instructs her to leave her form how it is and rest for a few cycles before returning to her for the last of her punishment. Jasper knows better than to fight it, and does as she is told, returning to her bunk room. She settles into her cubby, ignoring the stares of the other gems around her. One of the other Jaspers bothers her, i.e., is worried about her, and Jasper, practically the gem equivalent of half asleep, gives a concise version of events of what happened to her. To the much smaller and weaker Jaspers it sounds like absolute torture, and even more rumors spread about the ex-renegade Pearl. Seeing such a huge gem, a Jasper warrior no less, return from her punishment with a bruised form and an elaborate design weaved into her hair is terrifying. No one has seen Jasper look this beaten before, not even after huge battles. And everyone knows you don't mess with a Quartz's hair unless you want your hands to get cut.

After taking a few cycles to recover, Jasper goes back to complete her punishment. The Pearl exsplains that she will poof her, and gives her specific instructions on how she should regenerate her form. After she was poofed she could smooth over the damage, but she must make some change to her form to show Pearl that she understood her punishment. If Pearl approved of the changes her punishment would be over and her new form would be shown to their Diamond. Pearl told her to take her time, and then poofed her. When Jasper returned she looked fairly similar to before, the main change being the pink diamond symbol on the front. It was still pink and still a diamond, but instead of straight edges between the points each side swooped in, giving it a concave look. It took a moment, but Pearl quickly realized what it represented and found herself pleased. It was a diamond star. Pearl praised her for her choice, and told her to go show their Diamond for final approval. Jasper wasn't sure how to feel at the Pearl's praise, frustrated about how much she liked it. She pushed off the nagging thoughts of Pearl's words and went to show her Diamond her form.

(Something like this for Jasper's new symbol)

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