Chương 151: LOG-143.

In the end, things simply progressed too quickly for me to think. My escorts and I went from the monolithic compound that sat beneath the glaring eyes of White Diamond's personal ship, to a nearby Warp junction. From there, I ignored the looks and whispers, presumably at a… Nacre (was gonna need to get used to that… somehow), actually being outside of the Reef, until the local Sphenes secured a Warp pad for our use.

In a flash of light, I crossed half of Homeworld in seconds, emerging at an entirely separate junction, one of twenty that surrounded a significantly larger Galaxy-class Warp pad.

It took a bit of waiting (most of which I spent doing my best to keep calm), since getting me to where the Empire wanted me to go took lesser priority compared to a few other Gems (usually large crowds that clustered together atop the pad to actually fit) either leaving or arriving at Homeworld, but eventually the guards there gave me clearance as well. The Quartzes didn't follow me onboard the large, crystalline structure.

And it was only the sight of a nearby Era One Peridot visibly operating several large terminals connected directly to the pad that stopped me from just picking a random destination in my mind and Warping out. I could try, certainly. But Homeworld tracked these kinds of things, particularly in such vital areas. Chances were I'd be found by concerned security forces assuming I was dumb enough to get lost within a few minutes, and then I'd be back to square one.

So I shot the area around me one last passive glare, disguised as an idle glance, cursed this rotten planet in the (extremely tentative, at this point) safety of my mind, and thought of the Reef. Then my world became light, and off I went. — Waves. Rocks. Sand. That's all that White One amounted to, in the end. Alongside an entire industry built up around slavery. One that I was supposed to contribute to now, apparently.

It was with a sharp bite of pain that I realised I'd clenched my hands hard enough for my newly upgraded claws to begin poking into my palms, almost to the point of piercing my lightform. With a slow, careful retraction, I pulled the miniature knives away and glanced down the long bridge leading to the familiar silhouette of the Reef. Glancing down at the Warp pad beneath my feet one last time, I debated just trying my chances at jumping literally anywhere else. It would be one hell of a gamble, but… No.

I needed to be logical about this. Sighing quietly, I stepped off of the immense chunk of expensive material and onto the smooth stone of the bridge, slowly beginning to walk forward. Each step brought the stinging of my eyes back to the forefront, and soon enough I was quietly sobbing as I continued to approach the wretched structure. Did someone see me? Hell if I knew, cause all I could see was the ocean all around me. If there was any kind of surveillance equipment present, I wasn't aware of it.

Still, the long walk gave me time to, if not scream out my feelings, at least let out some little part of the pent up storm swirling around in my head, and soon enough I was carefully wiping away any traces of the tears with my hands as I stood in front of a notably already opened entrance. Staring into the darkness awaiting me, I took one last breath before breaching the gap, glancing around to see if I could find some way to turn on the lights-"WELCOME BACK VIRIDIAN SIXTEEN B!"

Violently flinching backwards at the abrupt wave of noise that washed over me, I tried not to blink, or bare my claws for that matter, as the darkness was suddenly banished, revealing… Pearls. So, so many Pearls. There had to be a few dozen present at the very least, and standing amongst them were…

"Oh my perfect creation! How good it is to see you again!" Staring silently as Nacre Three, stepped forward, earning strangled protests from Nacre One and Two, who had been standing behind her, I envisioned the best angle for an attack that would allow me to pierce right through the completely unprotected lightform of her neck, discorporating her and leaving her vulnerable to shattering in a follow up-"Come, come! We have so much to talk about, so much to celebrate!

Never in my wildest hopes would I have thought that you'd come this far! Ah, but I should have known, you were always flawless after all!" The only thing that stopped me was the sight of what I almost mistook to be my reflection for a moment, before I realised that such a thing wasn't possible, considering my irrevocably altered form.

"Three, release the Overseer at once!" This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

"Yes, we should have a chance to converse with her as well!" And yet as my hands were grasped by claws that I'd sworn would never touch me again, I could do little but allow myself to be dragged along.

"Oh hush up! I want to speak to my magnificent creation again!" All while continuing to stare at the little green Pearl looking back at me, her eyes filled with something disgustingly close to hero worship. — I had, for lack of a better term to explain it, zoned out. Mostly because it was very likely the only thing, aside from my own entirely rational desire to survive, that was holding me back from going on a killing spree and shattering every Gem I saw that wasn't a Pearl.

"And then when I'd learned that you'd been selected to act as Yellow Diamond's personal Pearl! Oh, the look on Nacre One's face! Her precious 1A, stuck in the restoration pools while my wonderful Viridian took her place!" It was also the only thing, aside from a lack of lungs, of course, that was probably keeping me from hyperventilating at being back in this fucking office again, sat upon a chair of all things as Nacre Three paced back and forth in front of me, gushing. She'd been doing that since I'd gotten here.

Alongside complimenting me. Congratulating me. Celebrating the fact that I'd gotten so far.

"And now you've been elevated by White Diamond herself! My Pearl, grown into a new generation of Nacre intended to completely overhaul the industry! I was in constant communication with the Moissanite assisting in the project, you know? They asked me for reports on what I did to make you! Reports! The honour! The prestige!" Staring down at the talons currently resting atop my pale green thighs, I once more contemplated how easily I could get away with murder. Crack. Crackle. Snap.

Sure, hiding the disappearance of a Nacre would most definitely be harder than killing off and stuffing away the fragmented corpse of a lowly Peridot, but I could… probably do it, right?

"Ah, I could go on about this for entire planetary rotations! But I've held you here long enough, Overseer. It's time we get you to your important work! Just know that I'll be here to assist you every step of the way, alright? Not that I think you'll need it of course! Perfect as you are…" Overseer. Overseer. Overseer. That… fucking Star Sapphire.

"Nacre Three." The lanky Gem snapped to attention as I finally stood, taking some dumb, stupid satisfaction at the fact that I was actually able to stare down at her now.

"Yes, my dea-I mean Overseer!" It was with a hollow feeling inside my gemstone that the realisation hit me. That there was no malice in those adoring eyes. No hidden plot to replace me, or to hurt me somehow. She genuinely intended to assist my operation here, to the best of her ability.

"I require chambers of my own prepared, and will need the full documentation of the Reef's current operations made available to me. Privacy is of the utmost importance." Just…pride. Senseless, delusional pride that something she had made had gotten so far. Pride that swelled as I gave her orders, pride that ballooned as she snapped off a salute at me, of all things.

"I'll requisition a Peridot and a few Bismuths at once, Overseer! Perhaps a Morganite as well! Oh, this is just so exciting!" Just a little more. I'd see if I could get the construction team to soundproof the room, if possible. Then I could wail for a few hours…or days, while looking over the datawork that I'd likely be in charge of soon enough. Anything to keep me away from the Pearls for a bit longer. The stares had just been…too much. Especially from the one that was clearly intended to be my sequel.